DNS

Public DNS Speed Test

Resolver Speed

Find the fastest resolver for a domain

We'll run repeated timed queries for this domain against major public resolvers and rank them by average response time.

Tool features

Comprehensive DNS server performance analysis with detailed recommendations
4 checks

Response Time Testing

Measure DNS query response times across multiple servers

Multiple DNS Servers

Test performance against popular public DNS providers

Performance Analytics

Detailed analysis and comparison of DNS server performance

Optimization Insights

Recommendations for improving DNS performance

What is DNS performance & how it works

How resolver speed affects every lookup

Every visit to a website starts with a DNS lookup, and the resolver that answers it adds its response time to every uncached request. A slow or distant resolver can add tens of milliseconds before a connection even begins.

This test sends repeated timed queries for your domain to major public resolvers (Google, Cloudflare, Quad9 and OpenDNS, primary and secondary) and ranks them by average response time. The first query is often slower because the resolver has to fetch the answer from your authoritative nameservers; later queries show its cached speed.

Resolver
The recursive DNS server that looks up and caches answers for clients.
Latency
Time from sending a query to receiving the answer, in milliseconds.
Cache hit
An answer served from the resolver’s cache without asking your nameservers.

How to use this tool

Benchmark public DNS resolvers in four steps
1
Enter a domain
Type the domain you want to resolve, e.g. your own site.
2
Run the test
Start the test to send repeated timed queries to each public resolver.
3
Compare the rankings
Review average latency per resolver and which ones answered consistently.
4
Act on it
Use the results to pick a resolver, or to spot slow authoritative nameservers when every resolver’s first query is slow.

Related tools

Keep debugging with tools from the same suite
4 tools
DNS Lookup
Perform DNS queries for A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, and other DNS record types
DNS Servers
Find and test DNS servers for a domain or IP address with performance metrics
Online Ping
Ping servers to check connectivity and measure response time with detailed statistics
Nameserver Health Check
Check your domain's own nameservers for responsiveness, DNSSEC status, and latency

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about DNS performance
5 Q&A

From the ShowDNS server, not your device. The rankings show how each resolver performs from that location; resolvers with anycast networks near you may rank differently from your own network.

On the first query the resolver may not have your domain cached, so it has to ask your authoritative nameservers. Repeat queries are served from cache, which reflects the resolver’s own speed.

It depends on location. Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Google (8.8.8.8) and Quad9 (9.9.9.9) all run large anycast networks, and the fastest for a given user is usually whichever has a point of presence closest to them.

It shortens the DNS step for uncached lookups, which helps first visits and third-party domains. Once an answer is cached for its TTL, resolver speed stops mattering until it expires.

If cached answers are fast but first lookups are slow everywhere, your authoritative nameservers are likely the bottleneck. Check them with the Nameserver Health tool and consider a faster DNS host or longer TTLs.