Top 10 Best Public DNS Servers for 2024

NextDNS takes DNS customization and security to the next level. Its DNS servers blocks a wide range of malicious domains, including those involved in malware, phishing, adware, and botnets. It uses real-time analysis to cut off access to malicious websites, blocks ads and web trackers and lets you implement a custom blocklist to protect kids who use your devices. It also provides DNSSEC validation, which helps prevent domain name spoofing attacks and ensures you're connecting to a legitimate website.

NextDNS has servers located around the world, ensuring fast and reliable performance regardless of your location While some of these premium servers are limited to paid users, it offers a free public option limited to 300,000 DNS queries a month. Once you hit the limit, NextDNS will still process your DNS requests, but you’ll lose access to its extra features.

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 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.

While it may be known for providing VPNs, NordVPN also operates a number of public DNS servers that are a great choice for protecting your privacy and keeping your data secure. Just like the top DNS servers on this list, NordVPN’s DNS servers are fast and t, encrypt all DNS requests to prevent potential leaks and ensure your browsing activity remains hidden from your ISP and other third parties. NordVPN apps also offer smart DNS as part of NordVPN’s SmartPlay feature, which automatically redirects your DNS queries to other DNS servers if the page you requested is not available in your region. 

NordVPN’s DNS servers do not filter your DNS queries by default, but you can implement DNS filtering against malicious domains with NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature if you wish. NordVPN's apps encrypt all DNS requests, preventing potential leaks and ensuring your browsing activity remains hidden from your ISP and other third parties.

Quad9 is a free DNS service that replaces your default ISP or enterprise DNS configuration. When your computer performs any Internet transaction that uses the DNS, Quad9 blocks lookups of malicious host names from a range of d different threats. It blocks millions of malware and phishing domains per day, protecting you from harmful websites and online threats This n protects your computer, mobile device, or IoT systems against a wide range of threats such as malware, phishing, spyware, and botnets, and it can improve performance in addition to guaranteeing privacy.

The Quad9 DNS service is operated by the Swiss-based Quad9 Foundation, whose mission is to provide a safer and more robust Internet for everyone. The company has servers located around the world, providing fast and reliable performance regardless of your location.

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 incredible managed DNS solution for internet gateway access that resolves your DNS requests through our worldwide network of redundant DNS servers. It provides some of the best DNS servers 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 sercer 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.