Best free and public DNS server of 2024

The champion free and nationalist DNS servers make it elemental and easy to link online pinch a faster and safer surfing acquisition than done your ISP.

If you’re caller to DNS servers, nan DNS aliases Domain Name System is simply a protocol that takes nan domain names that you participate into a browser and translates them into nan IP addresses needed to entree those peculiar websites.

Getting nan champion speeds isn't conscionable down to nan best web hosting. It's besides sewage thing to do pinch your ISP. You're automatically assigned a DNS server by your ISP each clip you spell online, but it whitethorn not ever beryllium nan champion choice. If your ISP's DNS is slow, that will trim your browsing speeds, and if it goes down, you whitethorn beryllium incapable to entree immoderate (or possibly all) of nan web.

Fortunately, switching to a value free and nationalist DNS server tin present much responsive browsing, often pinch a bunch of information benefits thrown in: anti-phishing, blocking of infected websites, and possibly contented filtering to support your children distant from unsavory web content.

You request to take your work pinch attraction - not each providers will needfully beryllium amended than your ISP - but to thief constituent you successful nan correct direction, this article will item six of nan champion DNS servers around.

The champion free and nationalist DNS servers of 2024 successful full:

Best overall

Best known for its top-rated CDN, Cloudflare has extended its scope to see a caller nationalist DNS service, nan catchily-named 1.1.1.1.

Cloudflare has focused overmuch much connected nan fundamentals. These commencement pinch performance, and independent testing from sites for illustration DNSPerf shows Cloudflare is nan fastest nationalist DNS work astir for earthy worldwide speeds.

Privacy is different awesome highlight. Cloudflare doesn't conscionable committedness that it won't usage your browsing information to service ads; it commits that it will ne'er constitute nan querying IP reside (yours) to disk. Any logs that do beryllium will beryllium deleted wrong 24 hours. And these claims aren't conscionable reassuring words connected a website. Cloudflare has retained KPMG to audit its practices annually and nutrient a nationalist study to corroborate nan institution is delivering connected its promises.

The 1.1.1.1 website has immoderate setup guidance, pinch elemental tutorials covering Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and routers. These are very generic—you get 1 group of instructions for each versions of Windows, for instance—but location are immoderate pluses (IPv6 arsenic good arsenic IPv4 details) and you should beryllium capable to fig it out. Additionally, mobile users tin usage WARP which secures each of nan phone’s net traffic.

The merchandise doesn't connection ad-blocking aliases effort to show what you tin access, and what you can't. The 1 caveat is that Cloudflare has introduced contented filtering for malware and big contented blocking, pinch their 1.1.1.2/1.0.0.2 and 1.1.1.3/1.0.0.3 services respectively, but this is an action a personification tin take alternatively than person forced connected them.

If you person immoderate problems, Cloudflare offers a organization forum wherever you tin inquire questions aliases spot what others are doing, a bully other touch which we'd for illustration to spot followed by different providers.

Read our afloat Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 review.

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Best for knowledgeable users

Google Public DNS is simply a elemental and effective replacement for your ain ISP's nameservers.

Privacy can't rather lucifer nan 'we don't support anything' promises of Cloudflare, but it's not bad. The work logs nan afloat IP reside accusation of nan querying instrumentality for astir 24 to 48 hours for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes. 'Permanent' logs driblet immoderate personally identifiable accusation and trim location specifications to nan metropolis level, and each but a mini random sample of these are deleted aft 2 weeks.

There's a further use for knowledgeable users successful Google's elaborate explanation of nan service. If you'd for illustration to beryllium capable to measure nan value of Google's privateness policy, for instance, you tin publication up connected perfectly everything nan work logs incorporate to find retired for yourself.

Google's support tract offers only very basal guidance targeted astatine knowledgeable users, informing that "only users who are proficient pinch configuring operating system settings [should] make these changes." If you're unsure what you're doing, cheque nan tutorials from a supplier specified arsenic OpenDNS, remembering to switch its nameservers pinch Google's: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

Read our afloat Google Public DNS review.

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Best for tech enthusiasts

Gcore, antecedently known arsenic G-Core Labs, stands arsenic a globally recognized net infrastructure endeavor known for mounting records. It chiefly offers robust unreality and separator computing solutions tailored to nan intermezo and media sectors. The institution itself acknowledges that its services are peculiarly geared towards those pinch a beardown liking successful technology.

This does not mean that you shouldn’t see Gcore if you’re not a technophile. The level offers dedicated and virtual servers that tin beryllium easy configured via nan intuitive and easy-to-use Server Configurator function. If, however, you would for illustration to person a pre-configured dedicated aliases virtual server, Gcore offers that arsenic well, frankincense removing nan request for in-depth method knowledge.

The offering is OS-agnostic and supports IPv4 and IPv6 coupled pinch SSL certificates from starring providers. 

Pricing is wherever things get a spot complicated. Namely, location are Pre-priced dedicated aliases virtual servers are bare servers pinch perchance a batch of further costs. On nan different hand, if you’re looking to configure nan server yourself, nan costs are delivered to you done further tables of information, positive other you request to salary if you transcend nan allowance. All successful all, nan costs building needs to beryllium simplified and much transparent.   

If you’re looking for virtual aliases dedicated servers supported by a coagulated world infrastructure and are comfortable pinch nan associated costs, Gcore mightiness beryllium nan perfect supplier for your needs.

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Best for performance

Quad9 is an knowledgeable DNS outfit which has been providing a accelerated and free DNS work since August 2016.

The institution sells itself connected its expertise to artifact malicious domains by collecting intelligence from 'around 20' nationalist and backstage sources. We're not needfully convinced that utilizing a ample number of providers will thief (the value of nan intelligence is much important than nan quantity), but arsenic your ISP astir apt offers nary DNS threat protection astatine all, you're still safer overall.

Quad9 delivers very tin performance, too, pinch DNSPerf presently standing nan work seventh retired of 12 Public DNS resolvers for mean worldwide query times. That's lagging a small down marketplace leaders specified arsenic Google and Cloudflare, but it competes good pinch nan likes of NextDNS and G-Core, and speeds wide are good supra average.

Setup guidance isn't rather arsenic broad arsenic we elsewhere, and immoderate of nan tutorials look a small outdated (the Windows guidance covers Windows 8 and 10, there's games console proposal for nan PS4.)  But overall, it's good presented, and it's not difficult to fig retired what you request to do.

Read our afloat Quad9 review.

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Best for ease-of-use

Founded successful 2005 and now owned by Cisco, OpenDNS is 1 of nan biggest names among nationalist DNS providers, resolving a monolithic 620 cardinal DNS queries each day.

The free OpenDNS work (with a claimed 100% uptime since 2006) includes anti-phishing and configurable contented filtering. If you're aft simplicity, OpenDNS Family Shield (also free) comes preconfigured to artifact big content, nary manual tweaking required.

Paid plans present a small much parental controls-type features from $19.95 a year, including nan expertise to position a history of your net activity, aliases fastener down your strategy by allowing entree to circumstantial websites only. That's welcome, but we deliberation nan best parental power apps present amended kid protection for only a small much cash.

If you're an aged manus astatine swapping DNS, you tin get started instantly by reconfiguring your instrumentality to usage nan OpenDNS nameservers.

If you're a newbie, that's okay too, arsenic OpenDNS has setup instructions for PCs, Macs, mobile devices, routers and much, overmuch more.

Read our afloat OpenDNS review.

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Best for filtering

For those looking for a DNS to supply security, but besides simplicity, Cleanbrowsing tin fresh nan need. We for illustration that you conscionable request to take nan type of filtering that you want to do, and past insert nan superior and secondary DNS’ that accomplishes that goal. 

There are 3 free filters to take from. The Security select keeps you safe from malware, spam and phishing domains. An Adult select besides protects users from pornographic aliases definitive sites. Finally, a Family select extends Cleanbrowsing's parental controls scope by besides mounting Google, Bing and YouTube to Safe hunt mode, and blocks VPN and proxy sites which let smarter kids to bypass its protection.

That's a very tin scope of features, particularly for a free service, but Cleanbrowsing hasn't vanished yet. If you're put disconnected by immoderate of nan method setup procedures you'll spot elsewhere, Cleanbrowsing has immoderate free apps to do this for you. We downloaded nan Windows app, clicked nan fastener for our preferred filter, and it reconfigured our strategy immediately, thing other to do.

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Best for security

Comodo Group is nan powerfulness down a big of fantabulous information products, truthful it's nary astonishment that nan institution besides offers its ain nationalist DNS service.

Just arsenic you'd expect, Comodo Secure DNS has a beardown attraction connected safety. It doesn't conscionable artifact phishing sites, but besides warns if you effort to sojourn sites pinch malware, spyware, moreover parked domains which mightiness overload you pinch advertizing (pop-ups, pop-unders and more). Furthermore, you tin effort retired nan Comodo Dome Shield service, which adds further features to Comodo Secure DNS.

Comodo claims its work is smarter than average, too, detecting attempts to sojourn parked aliases 'not successful use' domains and automatically forwarding you to wherever you really want to go. We besides for illustration nan disposable iOS and Android apps.

Performance is key, of course, and nan institution suggests its worldwide web of servers and smart routing exertion springiness it an advantage. Unfortunately, Comodo stats weren't that impressive, and successful our tests, we sewage an mean query clip of astir 72ms. Furthermore, we did not find it classed connected DNSPerf for either worldwide, nor North America.

That said, Comodo whitethorn still beryllium absorbing if you're looking for an other furniture of web filtering, and nan support website has immoderate short but useful instructions connected mounting nan work up connected Windows PCs, Macs, routers and Chromebooks.

Read our afloat Comodo Secure DNS review.

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Best for Asia

First and foremost CDNetworks is simply a powerful CDN service, pinch a immense web and a beardown beingness successful Asia. The institution does supply a DNS work arsenic well, called CDNetworks’ Cloud DNS+.

Cloud DNS+ provides a managed cloud-based charismatic DNS work pinch precocious performance. The work has respective features of interest, nan first 1 being Cloud Load Balancer (CLB). CLB enables organizations to merge various transportation approaches, enhancing alignment pinch some business and method requirements. When Cloud DNS becomes charismatic for a zone, CLB is tin of implementing load-balancing rules for DNS queries. This allows for nan real-time guidance of personification traffic, improving some capacity and operational efficiency.

Also, nan work supports IPv6 DNS queries from end-users, and DNS records tin beryllium managed done their web UI aliases API. In addition, zones tin beryllium moved from a superior sanction server to CDNetworks’ Cloud DNS+ nameservers, and IP anycast tin beryllium utilized to heighten capacity and readiness by directing requests to nan nearest disposable DNS sanction server, pinch failover protection successful place.

CDNetworks does person pricing plans for their CDN Pro service, however, if you’re only willing successful Cloud DNS+ you’ll person to interaction nan institution via their form. 

Read our afloat CDNetworks review.

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We've besides listed nan champion mini business servers.

FAQs

What is DNS?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is simply a telephone book for nan internet, a model which translates domain names, for illustration facebook.com aliases twitter.com, into nan IP addresses basal for devices to load those net resources (e.g. 126.125.4.4). In geek terms, that's called Resolution.

The mechanics of DNS tin beryllium rather complicated, arsenic accusation isn't held successful a azygous database, but alternatively distributed successful a worldwide directory including a immense number of DNS servers.

Fortunately, nan mean net personification doesn't person to get progressive successful nan low-level method details. Your ISP automatically provides you pinch a DNS server whenever you spell online, and erstwhile you participate a URL into your browser, this finds nan applicable IP address for you. 

How tin I find nan fastest DNS service?

DNS velocity depends connected galore factors, including your location, nan region to your nearest server, and that server having capable powerfulness and bandwidth to grip each nan queries it receives.

DNS Jumper is simply a portable freeware instrumentality which tests aggregate nationalist DNS services to find retired which delivers nan champion capacity for you.

The programme has a batch of options, but isn't difficult to use. Launch it, click Fastest DNS > Start DNS Test, and wrong a fewer seconds you'll beryllium looking astatine a database of DNS services sorted by speed.

DNS Jumper tin beryllium useful, successful peculiar because it's checking really servers execute from your location, but it doesn't tally capable tests complete a agelong capable play to springiness you a definitive answer.

DNSPerf tests aggregate DNS services each infinitesimal from 200+ locations astir nan world and makes nan results freely disposable connected its ain website. This gives a very bully wide thought of performance, and besides enables seeing really services comparison connected different continents, arsenic good arsenic assessing their uptime.

How tin I move DNS servers?

The steps progressive successful changing your DNS work alteration according to your hardware and perchance your operating strategy version.

Generally, you must commencement by uncovering nan superior and secondary nameservers for nan DNS work you'd for illustration to use. These IP addresses are usually displayed very intelligibly connected nan work website, so, for example, Cloudflare DNS uses 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1.

The simplest attack for location users is to update their router to usage nan caller addresses. Most different devices will past prime up nan caller DNS settings automatically, pinch nary further activity required.

To make this hap you must log successful to your router (the default password whitethorn beryllium printed connected its base) and look for nan existent DNS superior and secondary nameservers. Make a statement of nan existent values successful lawsuit of problems, past switch them pinch nan nameservers you'd for illustration to use.

If you tally into problems, cheque retired your DNS work website for immoderate setup guidance. Keep successful mind that you tin besides usage nan tutorials of different DNS providers, arsenic agelong arsenic you retrieve to switch their nameserver IPs pinch your preferred options. OpenDNS, for instance, has circumstantial guidance for galore different router types connected its support site.

If router tweaks aren't correct for your situation, you whitethorn person to alteration nan DNS configuration of each individual device. Cloudflare has short and elemental guidance here, while nan OpenDNS website goes into much depth.

How tin I find my existent DNS servers?

If you're troubleshooting your net connection, aliases possibly reasoning of switching DNS servers, it mightiness beryllium useful to cheque which DNS servers you're utilizing astatine nan moment.

The simplest measurement to do this is to sojourn DNSLeakTest.com and pat nan Standard Test button. Within a fewer seconds nan website will usually show your DNS server IP addresses, big names, and sometimes (if appropriate) nan sanction of your ISP.

After that, life gets much analyzable arsenic location are respective imaginable options. Your instrumentality could beryllium group up to usage circumstantial DNS servers; it mightiness inquire your router to springiness it nan champion DNS servers each clip it boots; aliases it mightiness not cognize thing astir DNS servers, and default to nan router to grip everything.

On Windows, you could get started by entering IPCONFIG/ALL successful a bid statement window. Look for your web adapter and past you’ll spot its DNS servers specified successful nan list.

If there's a azygous DNS IP reside which points astatine your router – 192.168.x.x – that suggests nan router is handling each DNS queries. Enter that IP reside into your browser, log successful to nan router if basal and your DNS servers will beryllium listed amongst nan settings.

Why paid DNS is amended than free

If your browser is telling you a website's 'Server IP reside could not beryllium found,' moreover though you're judge it's up and available, past this could beryllium owed to a problem pinch your DNS. However, support successful mind that you mightiness not want to spell to nan problem of changing your DNS work to find out.

Windows users tin usage nan bid statement instrumentality nslookup.exe to look astatine nan results of immoderate DNS server- without moreover rubbing their strategy settings. Here’s really to do this:

Run cmd.exe to unfastened a bid statement window, past type:

nslookup website.com

Then property Enter (replace website.com pinch nan reside of immoderate website you're trying to reach).

Nslookup uses your default DNS server to look for nan IP reside of website.com. If it tells you it 'Can't find website.com,' this intends your DNS server doesn't person a grounds for that domain.

Next, show nan instrumentality to usage different DNS work by entering a bid like:

nslookup website.com 8.8.8.8

The 8.8.8.8 reside uses Google DNS – switch that pinch immoderate DNS work you like, specified arsenic 1.1.1.1 for Cloudflare.

If nslookup returns errors utilizing aggregate servers, this doesn't look for illustration a DNS issue. If 1 server returns an IP reside and different doesn't, you mightiness want to effort mounting up your strategy to usage nan moving DNS, and spot if it makes immoderate difference.

How to take nan champion DNS server for you

DNS servers tin alteration hugely successful speed, peculiarly successful areas which don't ever person nan champion net sum (Africa, South America, Oceania.) To return an illustration of a azygous time erstwhile we tested, DNSPerf.com reported Cloudflare achieved an mean 4.43ms query clip for Oceania, while Yandex was near trailing astatine 350.24ms. That's perchance much than a 3rd of a 2nd successful other waiting clip earlier your browser tin entree immoderate caller website.

This is an utmost example, to beryllium fair. European aliases US lookups whitethorn spot little than 30ms variety betwixt astir DNS services, and arsenic your instrumentality aliases router will astir apt cache nan reside for reuse later, moreover this hold will only hap very occasionally. Still, a sluggish DNS server tin noticeably slow down your browsing successful immoderate situations, and trying an replacement – particularly arsenic location are aggregate options that are each free is often a bully idea.

There's a 2nd imaginable use successful position of uptime. If and erstwhile your ISP DNS server fails, you will brushwood immoderate trouble accessing immoderate aliases each of your favourite sites. Big-name providers specified arsenic OpenDNS declare they've had 100% uptime going backmost years. These are nan factors we return into information erstwhile choosing nan champion DNS servers.

How we test

Is a free DNS work worthy it?

As pinch each service, you get what you salary for and it’s really nary different here. Free DNS tin beryllium bully but it’s thing compared to a Premium paid version. Granted, not everyone wants to salary and depending connected their needs they mightiness not request to, but paid DNS tin beryllium nan amended prime depending connected your needs. Apart from nan accrued website capacity and security, you besides get further features.

For instance, Dynamic DNS and Secondary DNS are a staple of nan premium DNS service. The Dynamic DNS useful pinch move IP addresses and it allows users to entree their location machine from anyplace successful nan world. The Secondary DNS useful arsenic a backup of sorts which is ever a plus. This is conscionable a mini fraction of what a premium DNS tin do and nan nonstop number of features will dangle connected nan work provider, which is 1 of nan features we look for erstwhile testing a DNS service.

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