IBM NS1 Connect
IBM NS1 Connect: Managed authoritative DNS with traffic steering, failover and API-driven automation. Ranked #3 of 58 in Managed DNS Services by our editors (9.1/10); pricing: 30-day trial; best for enterprise traffic steering and DNS automation.
At a glance
- Editor score9.1 / 10
- Pricing30-day trial
- Best forEnterprise traffic steering and DNS automation
- Free planNo
- Paid from$99/mo
- DNS health checksYes
- Founded1911 · Armonk, New York, United States
- Facts checked19 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Steers traffic by performance, availability, geography and policy
- Health checks can trigger automated failover
- Supports DNSSEC, zone versioning and primary-secondary DNS
Where it doesn't
- No free plan; paid Essentials starts at $99 per month
- Essentials includes only 2 health check monitors
- Essentials includes just 1 traffic filter chain
Our verdict on IBM NS1 Connect
IBM NS1 Connect is a managed authoritative DNS service for organizations that need traffic control, DNS resilience and API-driven operations. Its global anycast network provides the foundation for routing based on performance, availability, geography and policy, while health checks can trigger automated failover. The feature set is aimed at teams managing production DNS and traffic across changing infrastructure, rather than buyers looking only for basic domain records.
Traffic steering and automation are the service's defining strengths. DNS management is API-first, and integrations include Terraform, Ansible, Kubernetes, Python SDK, AWS CloudWatch, Datadog, PagerDuty and Slack. DNS Insights provides observability and analytics; other capabilities include DNSSEC, DNS-integrated HTTP and HTTPS redirects, and primary and secondary DNS with AXFR/IXFR zone transfers. This combination suits teams that want DNS operations connected to infrastructure-as-code and monitoring workflows. Buyers seeking a simpler DNS service may not need this breadth.
According to the vendor's pricing page, Essentials costs $99 per month and includes 30–80M DNS queries per month, 1,000 DNS records, 2 health check monitors, 1 traffic filter chain and 5 HTTPS redirects; Cloud Sync is an add-on. Standard costs $349 per month and adds zone versioning, with higher stated ranges for queries, records, monitors and traffic filter chains. Premium uses custom limits and includes primary and secondary DNS support, zone versioning and unlimited HTTPS redirects, with optional add-ons. A 30-day Trial is available, but there is no free plan. The starting price and Essentials limits may not suit smaller teams; organizations needing configurable enterprise DNS controls and integrations are better aligned with the service.
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IBM NS1 Connect pricing
All 4 IBM NS1 Connect plans and prices →
IBM NS1 Connect fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $99/mo |
| Included zones | Not verified |
| DNSSEC support | Yes |
| DNS health checks | Yes |
| Traffic steering | Advanced |
| API access | Yes |
| Secondary DNS | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Integrations | 16 integrations: Terraform, Ansible, AppDynamics, AWS CloudWatch, Catchpoint, Datadog … |
| Pricing | 30-day trial (source) |
| Website | ibm.com |
| Facts checked | 19 Sep 2026 |
IBM NS1 Connect integrations
IBM NS1 Connect lists 16 integrations on its own site.
- Terraform
- Ansible
- AppDynamics
- AWS CloudWatch
- Catchpoint
- Datadog
- Kubernetes
- NGINX
- OctoDNS
- Okta
- OpenStack Designate
- PagerDuty
- Pingdom
- Python SDK
- Slack
- ThousandEyes
Alternatives to IBM NS1 Connect
- Gcore Managed DNSA low-cost managed DNS service with advanced routing, DNSSEC, health checks, and API access.9.3
- Alibaba Cloud DNSFree DNS and paid plans from $7 per domain yearly, with advanced routing options.9.2
- Akamai Edge DNSEnterprise DNS with traffic steering, failover and automation; pricing is sales-led.9.0
See all IBM NS1 Connect alternatives →
IBM NS1 Connect vs the competition
- IBM NS1 Connect vs Gcore Managed DNS
- IBM NS1 Connect vs Alibaba Cloud DNS
- IBM NS1 Connect vs Akamai Edge DNS
- IBM NS1 Connect vs Google Cloud DNS
- IBM NS1 Connect vs Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DNS
- IBM NS1 Connect vs ClouDNS
Compare IBM NS1 Connect with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
IBM NS1 Connect is ranked in 7 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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