Best and Fastest DNS Servers in 2023

A DNS, or Domain Name Server, is what helps translate human-friendly URLs into computer-friendly IP addresses. This is what enables our devices to connect to the internet and access the content we want to see.

When people change their DNS, it’s usually to enhance either performance, security or both! Below, we’ll take a look at what to consider when switching our DNS and the 14 best free DNS servers to do it with.

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Best and Fastest DNS servers in 2022

Here are the best and fastest DNS servers in 2022.

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Google 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4
Quad9 9.9.9.9 149.112.112.112
OpenDNS Home 208.67.222.222 208.67.220.220
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1
CleanBrowsing 185.228.168.9 185.228.169.9
Alternate DNS 76.76.19.19 76.223.122.150
AdGuard DNS 94.140.14.14 94.140.15.15

We have a lot of options, but we need to see whether the experience is fast, the security is improved and the last is it should be accurate and shouldn’t redirect to some other page. Generally, free services limit your bandwidth and impose other restrictions on their use.

If those public DNS servers are too far from you geographically, the speed of your connection can be significantly hindered by the sheer distance.

What to consider when switching our DNS

A few things to note before we dive in:

Default DNS vs. third-party DNS – When we have internet service, our internet service provider (ISP) has a default DNS which our network uses to connect to the web. ISPs can collect data on customers and their internet activity. The DNS servers offered by third party companies can be faster than those maintained by your local internet service provider. If that’s the case, using third-party DNS servers can mean a faster web browsing experience.
Free DNS vs. paid DNS – Beyond the obvious financial difference between a free and paid DNS, free options typically have fewer features. A paid DNS will have more advanced security and performance functionality, as well as better customer support and more customization options.

Benefits of using custom DNS Servers

Using a custom DNS server can reduce network latency. Here are the main benefits of changing DNS servers on our system:

Changing our DNS settings help us maintain a stable connection.
Faster DNS server will give us faster loading times. Because our query times will be shorter, our web pages will load faster. we can also minimize ping, jitter, and packet loss.
The usage of DNS in conjunction with firewalls and Phishing prevention can help us achieve higher levels of security.

How to check which DNS server is faster?

In Linux, we can user dig command to get the DNS query time. Here is an example of this.

$ dig @8.8.8.8 google.com | grep “Query time:”
;; Query time: 15 msec
$ dig @4.2.2.1 google.com | grep “Query time:”
;; Query time: 289 msec

From here, we can see that the first DNS server is much faster than the second one. 2 Ways to Check DNS Speed

Google DNS Server

Google’s own DNS product is also free. It focuses on “speed, security, and validity of results.” It only offers DNS resolution and caching — there is no site-blocking with Public DNS.

It gives us the many features with a wide range of options. But there is no data encryption between your laptop and DNS server. The data might be leaked.This DNS will provide the user with fast browsing, accurate results, and better security. It has the primary DNS with 8.8.8.8 and Secondary DNS 8.8.4.4. Google even offers an IPv6 version with the primary DNS 2001:4860:4860::8888 and Secondary DNS 2001:4860:4860::8844.

OpenDNS DNS Server

Owned by Cisco, OpenDNS has two free options: Family Shield and Home. Family Shield is good for parents who want to make sure their kids can’t access inappropriate content. Home focuses on internet safety and performance.

The OpenDNS is reliable, and it has more than 100 million users all around the globe. It is one of the fastest DNS for gaming. The primary function of it is parental control, and the other is better filtering options. The primary DNS is 208.67.222.222, and for secondary DNS, it is 208.67.220.220. It also provides IPv6. The primary DNS for IPv6 is 2620:119:35:35 and for the secondary DNS, it is 2620:119:53:53.

Cloudflare DNS Server

The “fastest DNS resolver on Earth,” Cloudflare’s free DNS service has:

Unmetered mitigation of DDoS
Global CDN
Shared SSL certificate
Three-page rules
Unlimited bandwidth

Comodo Secure DNS Server

Comodo Secure DNS’s cloud-based Secure Internet Gateway Gold package is free (up to 300,000 monthly DNS requests). This gets you:

Protection from advanced threats, phishing, malware and C&C callbacks
Web filtering for 80+ content categories
Web access policy protection on and off-network
Real-time visibility for all connected devices

Quad9 DNS Server

Quad9 emphasizes security, privacy and performance — the company was founded on the goal to make the internet safer for everyone. It blocks malicious domains, phishing and malware while maintaining your anonymity. Quad9 is constantly expanding to new regions. Right now, it comes in at No. 8 on the DNS Performance Analytics and Comparison ratings.

Verisign Public DNS Server

Verisign touts its superior stability and security features, plus the fact that they don’t sell user data to any third-party companies or for selling/targeting ads. Verisign became Neustar UltraDNS Public in the fourth quarter of 2020 after an asset sale on October 9.

UncensoredDNS DNS server

Completely run and funded by founder Thomas Steen Rasmussen, UncensoredDNS is based in Denmark. It’s a great option for those local to FreeDNS, complete with security features, performance enhancement and reliability. 91.239.100.100

CleanBrowsing DNS server

Both free and paid versions of CleanBrowsing are available. The free DNS server focuses on privacy, especially for households with children. It comes with three free filters and blocks most adult content. 185.228.168.168

Yandex Free DNS

This Russia-based option has a whole list of features for 77.88.8.7:

Performance – Gets you faster access to the web
Protection – Blocks malware and bots
Content filtering – Prohibits access to adult content

UltraRecursive DNS Server

Neustar’s UltraRecursive DNS is also a well-rounded option. It offers performance enhancement with quick query resolution and reliable infrastructure. It also blocks malware, malicious websites, phishing, spyware and bots (plus DDoS protection). It’ll also block inappropriate or adult content. 156.154.70.1

AdGuard DNS Server

AdGuard DNS also focuses on ad blocking. It also blocks counters, malicious websites and adult content, if we are looking to extend parental blocks for younger web users.The best free DNS server for us depends on what we want to get out of switching our DNS and where we are located. 176.103.130.130