⚡ Quick Answer
Most sites don't need premium DNS. Cloudflare's free DNS is excellent. Premium DNS makes sense for: high-traffic sites, complex routing needs, enterprise SLAs, or DDoS-prone targets.
DNS Provider Comparison
| Provider | Free Tier | Paid From | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Unlimited | $20/mo (Pro) | Everyone—best free DNS |
| AWS Route53 | No free tier | $0.50/zone/mo | AWS-heavy infrastructure |
| Google Cloud DNS | No free tier | $0.20/zone/mo | GCP users |
| DNSimple | No free tier | $5/mo | Developer-friendly UI |
| NS1 | 500k queries | $100/mo | Traffic management, enterprise |
| Dyn (Oracle) | No free tier | Custom | Enterprise, DDoS protection |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Cloudflare | Route53 | NS1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anycast | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| DNSSEC | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| DDoS Protection | ✓ Free | Basic | ✓ |
| GeoDNS | Paid | ✓ | ✓ |
| Health Checks | Paid | ✓ | ✓ |
| API | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SLA | 100% (Ent) | 100% | 100% |
When to Upgrade from Free DNS
✓ Premium DNS Makes Sense If:
- • Traffic from multiple continents (GeoDNS)
- • Need automatic failover between servers
- • SLA requirements for enterprise clients
- • Already using AWS/GCP infrastructure
- • Frequent DDoS targets
✗ Free DNS Is Fine If:
- • Single-region deployment
- • Standard A/CNAME/MX needs
- • No complex routing requirements
- • Small to medium traffic
- • Personal or small business sites
Our Recommendations
Best Free DNS: Cloudflare
Fast, reliable, excellent DDoS protection, easy to use. Hard to beat at $0.
Best for AWS Users: Route53
Native integration with ELB, CloudFront, S3. Health checks and failover built in.
Best for Traffic Management: NS1
Advanced routing rules, real-time traffic steering, enterprise features.
Best Developer Experience: DNSimple
Clean UI, great API, one-click services, reasonable pricing.
Bottom Line
Start with Cloudflare's free tier. It handles 99% of use cases. Only move to paid DNS when you have specific needs that free DNS can't meet.
Don't pay for premium DNS just because it sounds professional—pay for features you actually need.