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Getting the best speeds isn’t as simple as using one of thebest web hostingproviders.

It’s also got something to do with your ISP.

A representational concept of a social media network

Your ISP DNS isn’t performing? Verisign is one of many big-name companies offering a free alternative

Reader offer: Free trial

Gcore DNS server is a robust solution designed for high-performance internet infrastructures.

With dedicated and virtual servers easily configurable via the intuitive Server Configurator, it caters to all users.

Pre-configured options are available too, eliminating the need for technical expertise.

Reader offer: Free trial

Your ISP DNS isn’t performing? Verisign is one of many big-name companies offering a free alternative

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)

Best free and public DNS server for filtering

1.

There are three free filters to choose from.

Comodo Secure DNS website screenshot.

The Security filter keeps you safe from malware, spam and phishing domains.

An Adult filter also protects users from pornographic or explicit sites.

Best general free and public DNS server

2.

Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 website screenshot.

Cloudflare has focused much more on the fundamentals.

Privacy is another major highlight.

Any logs that do exist will be deleted within 24 hours.

Google Public DNS website screenshot.

And these claims aren’t just reassuring words on a website.

Additionally, mobile users can use WARP which secures all of the phones internet traffic.

Read our fullCloudflare 1.1.1.1 review.

Gcore website screenshot.

Best free and public DNS server for experienced users

3.

Google Public DNS

Google Public DNS is a simple and effective replacement for your own ISP’s nameservers.

There’s a further benefit for experienced users in Google’s detailed description of the service.

Quad9 website screenshot.

Read our fullGoogle Public DNS review.

Best free and public DNS server for tech enthusiasts

4.

It primarily offers robust cloud and edge computing solutions tailored to the entertainment and media sectors.

OpenDNS website screenshot.

The company itself acknowledges that its services are particularly geared towards those with a strong interest in technology.

This does not mean that you shouldnt consider Gcore if youre not a technophile.

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

Comodo Secure DNS website screenshot.

Pricing is where things get a bit complicated.

Namely, there are Pre-priced dedicated or virtual servers are bare servers with potentially a lot of additional costs.

All in all, the cost structure needs to be simplified and more transparent.

CDNetworks DNS website screenshot.

Best free and public DNS server for performance

5.

Read our fullQuad9 review.

Best free and public DNS server for ease-of-use

6.

Verisign.

Your ISP DNS isn’t performing? Verisign is one of many big-name companies offering a free alternative

Read our fullOpenDNS review.

Best free and public DNS server for security

7.

Just as you’d expect, Comodo Secure DNS has a strong focus on safety.

How can I test a DNS service?

We also like the available iOS and Android apps.

Furthermore, we did not find it ranked on DNSPerf for either worldwide, nor North America.

Read our fullComodo Secure DNS review.

DNS Jumper

Best free and public DNS server for Asia

7.

The company does provide a DNS service as well, called CDNetworks Cloud DNS+.

Cloud DNS+ provides a managed cloud-based authoritative DNS service with high performance.

DNSPerf

The service has several features of interest, the first one being Cloud Load Balancer (CLB).

CLB enables organizations to integrate various delivery approaches, enhancing alignment with both business and technical requirements.

When Cloud DNS becomes authoritative for a zone, CLB is capable of implementing load-balancing rules for DNS queries.

How can I find my current DNS servers?

This allows for the real-time management of user traffic, improving both performance and operational efficiency.

Read our fullCDNetworks review.

Best free and public DNS server FAQs

What is DNS?

In geek terms, that’s called Resolution.

Fortunately, the average internet user doesn’t have to get involved in the low-level technical details.

How can I find the fastest DNS service?

The program has a lot of options, but isn’t difficult to use.

How can I switch DNS servers?

The steps involved in changing your DNS service vary according to your hardware and possibly your operating system version.

The simplest approach for home users is to update their router to use the new addresses.

Most other devices will then pick up the new DNS configs automatically, with no further work required.

If you run into problems, check out your DNS service website for any setup guidance.

OpenDNS, for instance, has specific guidance for many different router types on itssupport site.

Cloudflare has short and simple guidancehere, while the OpenDNSwebsitegoes into more depth.

How can I find my current DNS servers?

The simplest way to do this is to visitDNSLeakTest.comand tap the Standard Test button.

After that, life gets more complicated as there are several potential options.

On Windows, you could get started by entering IPCONFIG/ALL in a command line window.

Look for your online grid adapter and then youll see its DNS servers specified in the list.

Nslookup uses your default DNS server to look for the IP address of website.com.

If nslookup returns errors using multiple servers, this doesn’t look like a DNS issue.

This is an extreme example, to be fair.

There’s a second possible benefit in terms of uptime.

Big-name providers such as OpenDNS claim they’ve had 100% uptime going back years.

These are the factors we take into consideration when choosing the best DNS servers.

As with every service, you get what you pay for and its really no different here.

Free DNS can be good but its nothing compared to a Premium paid version.

Apart from the increased website performance and security, you also get additional features.

For instance, Dynamic DNS and Secondary DNS are a staple of the premium DNS service.

The Secondary DNS works as a backup of sorts which is always a plus.

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