8 Best Free DNS Servers: 2022 Guide to DNS Servers

A DNS, or Domain Name Server, is what helps translate human-friendly URLs into computer-friendly IP addresses. That is what allows your gadgets to hook up with the web and entry the content material you need to see.

When individuals change their DNS, it’s often to boost both efficiency, safety or each.  And whereas there are a lot of paid choices, we’re at all times followers of freebies. We’ll check out what to contemplate when switching your DNS and one of the best free DNS servers to do it with.

Greatest free DNS servers of 2022

*Measured in milliseconds, question occasions are from testing by DNS Performance Analytics and are the time it takes a DNS to get a request for a website title’s IP deal with, course of it and return that deal with to the consumer’s browser. The decrease the time, the higher – and quicker – it’s for the consumer.

1. Google Public DNS

Google’s own DNS product can be free. It focuses on “pace, safety, and validity of outcomes.” It solely presents DNS decision and caching — there isn’t a site-blocking with Public DNS.

2. OpenDNS

Owned by Cisco, OpenDNS has two free choices: Household Defend and Residence. Household Defend is nice for folks who need to be certain that their youngsters can’t entry inappropriate content material. Residence focuses on web security and efficiency.

3. Quad9

Quad9 emphasizes safety, privateness and efficiency — the corporate was based on the purpose to make the web safer for everybody. It blocks malicious domains, phishing and malware whereas sustaining your anonymity. Quad9 is continually increasing to new areas.

4. Cloudflare

Cloudflare’s free DNS service has unmetered DDoS Safety for Layers 3-7, International CDN, a shared SSL certificates, three-page guidelines and limitless bandwidth.

5. NextDNS

Specializing in malware and phishing assaults, cryptojacking and extra, NextDNS presents one free plan that features limitless gadgets, limitless configurations, entry to all options and group assist. There are additionally three paid plans to choose from.

6. Comodo Safe DNS

Comodo Secure DNS’s cloud-based Safe Web Gateway Gold package deal is free (as much as 300,000 month-to-month DNS requests). This will get you safety from superior threats, phishing, malware and C&C callbacks, Internet filtering for 80+ content material classes, internet entry coverage safety on and off-network and real-time visibility for all related gadgets

7. OpenNIC

At its core, the nonprofit, volunteer-run OpenNIC is an try and fight censorship. This free DNS server supplier makes your complete internet accessible to everybody. Additionally they stop “DNS hijacking” which is when an ISP takes over generally mistyped URLs.

8. CleanBrowsing

This DNS-based content material filtering service has free and paid choices. CleanBrowsing focuses on privateness, particularly for households with youngsters and might block grownup content material. Customers of the free service are by no means tracked and paid customers can choose to not be tracked.

How one can arrange a DNS server

Options to search for in a very good DNS server

The world of DNS servers could be complicated, however there are some things to be sure to are checking earlier than you join.

• Pricing: Go totally free choices each time potential
• Privateness: Does the DNS supplier gather your information and your ISP deal with?
• Velocity: How-To Geek recommends “you run a DNS benchmark to search out what’s greatest in your connection.”
• Security: When you have youngsters accessing your web, test for adult-content blocking.
• Safety: Does the DNS supplier you’re contemplating block malware, provide web-content filtering and different safety advantages?