Top 10 Managed DNS Providers for 2023

Delivered by the experts at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon Route 53 is a cost-effective and reliable DNS solution for businesses and individuals alike. The highly scalable and available service rapidly connects user requests to internet applications running either on-premises or on AWS environments. The solution allows users to manage their network traffic globally, build more efficient applications, and set up private DNS environments too. 

Easy to use and straightforward, Amazon Route 53 allows companies to set up their DNS routing strategy in a matter of minutes, with straightforward visual traffic tools. Companies can also create custom routing policies to reduce latency and boost compliance. 

Thanks to its global data centres and peering partnerships, Cisco’s OpenDNS is among the best-managed DNS solutions on the market today. The free service offers benefits such as 100% uptime, high speeds, blocking for phishing sites, and more. You can even access web-filtering strategies to block websites according to the kind of content they show.

Commercial plans for Open DNS give companies access to a history of their internet activity for up to a month at a time. OpenDNS also comes bundled with content filtering and malware/phishing protection. The Cisco Umbrella also provides protection against common threats like malware and ransomware for your peace of mind, so you don’t have to worry about your security when online. 

Verisign is best known for offering domain services, including selling website domain names and delivering state-of-the-art security services, but it also offers managed DNS servers. The Verisign public DNS solution is a free-to-use service that enhances the stability and security of your online environment. 

Unlike other DNS services on the market, Verisign also promises to keep your browsing data private. Designed for those with a focus on stability and security, the Verisign public DNS service delivers a highly reliable platform with excellent protection against security flaws. What’s more, the service comes from a business that managed more than 354 million domain registrations in the first quarter of 2023. 

Currently ranked among the fastest-managed DNS servers in the world, G-Core is the go-to choice if you’re looking for speed and performance. The company has dedicated DNS servers in 60 cities across the globe to ensure people can access fantastic Edge-level browsing power and speeds no matter their location. 

With G-Core, companies also gain access to unique bonus features, like GeoDNS which allows different IP addresses to be delivered based on a user’s location. This means websites with a geographically wide set of visitors can segment traffic however they choose. G-Core's managed DNS service is very affordable, starting at just $0.50 per month. This makes it a great option for businesses of all sizes.

A leading tool from a well-known name in the computer network space, Oracle’s managed DNS service allows users to create and manage their own custom DNS zones. Users can create bespoke zones, add records to certain zones, and use Oracle’s Infrastructure edge to handle a host of different DNS queries. There are multiple ways to access the DNS environment too. 

Users can access the DNS service using the Oracle Console DNS REST API from a supported browser. They can also set up administrators, and groups, which is ideal for businesses who want to give their employees access to different DNS settings based on security policies. There are also built-in monitoring capabilities for tracking the performance of the DNS environment.

A market leader in the DNS space, Akamai has a proven track record of delivering excellent results with high traffic volumes while repelling common attacks. The company has a number of managed DNS options, including the “Edge DNS”, which aims to deliver faster availability of web apps and APIs for business leaders.

Akamai Edge DNS hosts more than 2,000 DNS zones within the Edge environment and offers users a Zone Apex mapping function to help with managing vanity URL redirection. Distributed across 28 countries worldwide, the Akamai global network makes for excellent response times and availability. At the same time, the massive scale of the Akamai Intelligent Edge platform means that it’s easier for businesses to protect themselves from digital threats.

Security is the main appeal of Neustar’s UltraDNS, and the platform doesn’t lack in this area. It uses a set of protocols called Domain name system security extensions (DNSSEC) to protect users’ online activity from being intercepted by malicious actors. It does this by adding cryptographic signatures to existing DNS records and storing these records in typical name servers.

UltraDNS also employs what’s known as DNS Shield, a global network of secure DNS connections between Neustar, the platform's developer, and its partners. This feature minimizes the vulnerable points of compromise within an enterprise network by spreading the connections farther and wider. It also promises 100% uptime and comes with access to a host of useful features, including a cloud-based Recursive DNS service for the management and support of online applications. These features come at a cost though. With prices starting at $49.00 per UltraDNS, is one of the most expensive DNS providers on this list. 

Google plays a massive role in most web-related products and services today, and DNS is no exception. Google’s Cloud DNS is a fantastic replacement for the typical ISP environment, offering lightning-fast browsing and enterprise-grade reliability It’s incredibly secure too, reserving user information only for troubleshooting and diagnostic purposes.

Driving Google’s DNS performance is the global network that the business has access to today, allowing for quick performance and excellent redundancy. If you already rely on Google for many of your web-based activities and services, then it makes sense to use the same environment for your DNS too. 

Comodo Secure DNS is an incredibly managed DNS solution for internet gateway access that resolves your DNS requests through our worldwide network of redundant DNS servers. It is one of the best-managed DNS providers for online safety, blocking various phishing sites and warning users when they try to access sites with detected spyware and malware. There are also warnings for sites which have a large amount of advertising to keep browsing fast and efficient at all times. 

Comodo Secure DNS can also be integrated with the Comodo Dome Shield Service, which comes with extra security benefits and settings. The technology comes with on and off-network enforcement features, threat intelligence, and easy access for enterprise deployment in minutes. There’s also an intelligent system that automatically forwards users to the right location when they try to visit a domain that isn’t in use.

When Cloudflare built its DNS resolver 1.1.1.1 in 2018, it promised to provide the “internet’s fastest directory” on the market and beat Google at both speed and privacy. Whether it did that is debatable. But there’s no doubt that Cloudflare is one of if not the fastest DNS providers on the market, offering DNS lockup speeds of 11ms on average and worldwide DNS propagation in no more than five seconds.

It takes privacy seriously, promising not to hold onto users’ browser data to serve users specific ads for more than 24 hours, something which other DNS providers haven’t been able to promise. The Cloudflare DNS also offers built-in DDoS protection and one-click DNSSEC to ensure your applications are always safeguarded from DNS attacks. With its user-friendly interface and easy-access API, users can get themselves set up quickly and manage all of their domains no matter where their internet properties are hosted.