Fastest DNS: Cloudflare vs 9.9.9.9 vs 1.1.1.1 vs 8.8.8.8 vs Quad9

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Do you ever find yourself waiting for what feels like an eternity for a website to load?

Or perhaps you’re tired of buffering when streaming your favorite movie or TV show?

Well, it might be time to consider changing your DNS provider. DNS (Domain Name System) is a critical component of the internet, responsible for converting domain names to IP addresses that your computer can understand. And while you might not think about it often, your DNS provider can have a significant impact on your internet speed.

Third-party DNS service has become an essential tool for users assigned the default by their operator.

In this blog, we’ll compare some of the most popular DNS providers and find out which one is the fastest DNS provider: Cloudflare vs 9.9.9.9 vs 1.1.1.1 vs 8.8.8.8 vs Quad9.
So if you’re looking to boost your internet speed, keep reading!

Top Free DNS Networks to Try

Switching the Domain Name Server (DNS) is a simple technique to speed up and secure your internet connection. Additionally, while many commercial solutions are available, several outstanding free DNS service providers are also available. 

However, you must make sure to pick wisely. This is because not all DNS servers are superior to your Internet Service Provider’s default settings (ISP).

Moreover, keep in mind that using public DNS servers might put your device at risk of being hacked. Therefore, you must utilize a VPN for optimal online security. Further, not only will it encrypt your internet traffic, but the top VPN services will also have their private DNS servers.

Next, let’s look at this free DNS server and some alternative DNS options:

Google Public DNS

Google Public DNS has servers that are both fast and safe. Thus, there is no need to create an account, and there are no access restrictions. So, you are free to use the DNS server as often as you like.

In addition, Google Public DNS has several safeguards to keep you secure from DNS-related assaults. These include Denial of Service (DoS) assaults. Moreover, this involves inspecting all code produced by DNS queries and keeping track of the number of DNS inquiries made.

Because Google owns Google Public DNS, some users may fear their surfing data is being watched and gathered. Nevertheless, your IP address wipes out within 48 hours, and no information about your internet speed, behavior, or Google account stays.

Primary DNS Server Address: 8.8.8.8

Secondary DNS Server Address: 8.8.4.4

Cloudflare DNS

Because of its quick speeds, Cloudflare is a favorite choice for gamers. Moreover, you may pick over 200 servers from around the world. In addition, your connection is safe against DoS and cache poisoning. 

This service does not allow you to block adverts, but you may actively block or filter material.

Although specific data is present, your IP address will stay classified. It is, however, simply used to increase the DNS servers’ speed. Therefore, within 24 hours, all logs will deteriorate.

  • Primary DNS Server Address: 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary DNS Server Address: 1.0.0.1

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is the ideal solution for families with small children since it allows you to block out adult content by content filtering.

However, you have to sign up today for a member profile and confirm it by email. After that, you may use a dashboard to adjust your filters. 

Next, you may utilize the FamilyShield DNS servers, which block all pornographic material automatically. 

Unfortunately, OpenDNS gathers non-identifying information, is utilized privately, and shared with vendors. You do, however, have the option of deleting your DNS data.

  • Primary DNS Server Address: Basic 208.67.222.222 | Family Shield 208.67.222.123
  • Secondary DNS Server Address: Basic 208.67.220.220 | Family Shield 208.67.220.12

OpenNIC DNS

Quad9 has a global high-speed server network with over 145 sites. Moreover, strong privacy and confidentiality safeguards are in place to secure your connection and personal data. Moreover, anonymized location data has its records to optimize server speed.

  • Primary DNS Server Address: 9.9.9.9
  • Secondary DNS Server Address: 49.112.112.112

DNS.Watch

DNS.Watch has two servers in Germany, so you’ll get the fastest speeds if you’re nearby. Moreover, there will be no virus protection or ad filters because you will have unrestricted internet access. 

Further, DNS.Watch is notable for not logging any of your personal information (not even for statistical purposes). Because the DNS server system depends on donations to stay afloat, there’s no need to keep or sell your information.

  • Primary DNS Server Address: 84.200.69.80
  • Secondary DNS Server Address: 84.200.70.40

DNS Comparison of Cloudflare vs 9.9.9.9 vs 1.1.1.1 vs 8.8.8.8 vs Quad9

Google DNS has always been the most popular in the past, but we’ll never lose sight of alternatives such as OpenDNS.

Now, two more DNS alternatives have recently joined the market, and they’ve promoted their services with great force. Below, we will demonstrate a comparison of the fastest DNS system based on location. This article compares 9.9.9.9 vs. 1.1.1.1 vs. 8.8.8.8 between Google, IBM Quad 9, and Cloudflare.

Note – these tests happened in November 2023. To boost their credibility, we’ve conducted them ourselves several times. Read on for the findings of our experiments!

DNS Comparison between 9.9.9.9, 1.1.1.1, and 8.8.8.8

Since 1983, a Domain Name System, or DNS, has been necessary to implement within our connectivity systems. Until then, they used a HOST file to save all known domains. The exponential growth of the Internet has made it impossible to maintain a system like the old one.

Working Method to Change the DNS Server on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

So, what are the benefits of having a quick DNS?

Many people have probably heard of a DNS, but aren’t quite sure what exactly it does, nor why it’s super important to find the fastest one. The benefits are myriad! The DNS handles requests between devices by converting URLs to IP addresses. The DNS helps your device connect to the internet using this method.

A faster DNS will be especially useful for office workers, gamers, those who work from home, and basically anyone who relies on a highly stable internet connection to accomplish their goals. Your router’s response times device could decrease significantly, allowing for more reliable connections and faster speeds.

As a bonus, some DNS servers allow you to set parental controls if you want to restrict certain sites or all-around access. You can sometimes get protection from phishing scams and other predatory initiatives through a good DNS.

Is it easy to change my DNS?

Yes! It is an incredibly easy and low-risk endeavor to change your DNS. Here’s how to change your DNS:

Windows 10+:

  1. On the Start menu, go to Network Connections.
  2. Click Ethernet, and go to Change adapter options.
  3. You will see the connection you’re currently using. Right-click on this and select Properties.
  4. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/iPv4) and select Properties again.
  5. Select the button to Use the following DNS server addresses for your desired DNS service.
  6. Click OK, then close out all windows. You’re good to go!

Mac:

  1. Go to System Preferences > Network.
  2. There will be a menu on the left-hand side. Select what you’re using (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) and click Advanced.
  3. Click DNS. Next, type in the desired iPv4 or iPv6 (DNS) address that you want to use.
  4. Click the Add button, and then type in your desired search domain (ex. www.apple.com).
  5. Click OK. You should be all set after this.

In sum, the DNS is responsible for “translating” domain names to an IP address to establish a connection. For that reason, our Internet provider automatically assigns us their DNS for navigation, but nothing prevents us from changing that to any other DNS. Google DNS has been popular for a long time and later came the IBM DNS dubbed Quad9. Last week, we learned about 1.1.1.1, a new, private, and faster DNS than Google’s or Cloudflare’s.

DNS: 9.9.9.9 vs. 1.1.1.1 vs. 8.8.8.8

The arrival of Cloudflare’s DNS shook up a segment that seemed to be dominated by Google and OpenDNS. Their managers say that they are safer, more secure, and faster than the Internet giants. However, we have echoed an interesting study that focuses on alternative DNS systems in the market.

The DNS that are part of our study are:

  • Google 8.8.8.8
  • CloudFlare 1.1.1.1:
  • Quad9 9.9.9.9
  • OpenDNS 208.67.222.222
  • Norton DNS 199.85.126.20
  • CleanBrowsing 185.228.168.168
  • Yandex DNS 77.88.8.7
  • Comodo DNS 8.26.56.26

For the study, we recorded velocity measurements from 18 locations throughout the planet. The locations:

  • North America: San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Atlanta, Dallas, Fremont, San Francisco
  • Europe: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt
  • Asia: Tokyo, Singapore, Bangalore (India), Sydney, Brisbane (Australia)
  • South America: Sao Paulo

We can also take our measurements from the locations where we used a free tool, like DNS Performance Test, to download from your GitHub repository. This is designed for Linux, although you can use it with the subsystem included in Windows. We have others like Namebench for Windows, Mac, and Linux that find the best DNS system for our connection.

Results of the study: Which is the fastest DNS?

This is a summary of the study’s findings indicating that all DNS providers, except Yandex, performed well in North America and Europe with responses of less than 15ms in all cases. However, the operation in Asia and South America was not so fast.

The DNS 1.1.1.1 Cloudflare was the fastest in 72% of the locations, and its velocities obtained the lower response with only 4.98ms. The second and third positions went to Google and IBM’s Quad9 in that order. Quad9 was faster than Google in North America and Europe but lowered its performance in Asia and South America.

Now, the fastest-blocking DNS provider for adults was CleanBrowsing, so it should be considered by parents who want to keep their children’s Internet activity under control or by organizations that do not wish to allow free access to certain content.

These are the global speed results :

  • CloudFlare: 4.98 ms
  • Google: 16.44 ms
  • Quad9: 18.25 ms
  • CleanBrowsing: 19.14 ms
  • Norton: 34.75 ms
  • OpenDNS: 46.51 ms
  • Comfortable: 71.90
  • Yandex: 169.91

And the results in Europe:

  • CloudFlare: 2.96
  • Quad9: 4.35
  • CleanBrowsing: 5.74
  • Google: 7.17
  • OpenDNS: 8.99
  • Norton: 10.35
  • Comfortable: 13.06
  • Yandex: 35.74

Results in North America Average

  • CloudFlare: 3.93 ms
  • Quad9: 7.21 ms
  • Norton: 8.32 ms
  • Google: 8.53 ms
  • CleanBrowsing: 11.83 ms
  • OpenDNS: 14.66 ms
  • Comodo: 25.91 ms
  • Yandex: 119.09 ms

Results Data in USA, NewYork

  • Quad9 1.50 ms
  • CloudFlare 1.57 ms
  • Norton_DNS 7.28 ms
  • Google_DNS 7.71 ms
  • OpenDNS 9.71 ms
  •  CleanBrowsing 10.85 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 12.00 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 108.14 ms

USA, San Diego

  • CloudFlare 8.57 ms
  • Norton_DNS 9.00 ms
  • Google_DNS 14.28 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 19.28 ms
  • OpenDNS 19.42 ms
  •  Quad9 19.42 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 40.00 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 193.57 ms

Canada, Toronto

  •  CloudFlare 3.42 ms
  •  Google_DNS 9.42 ms
  •  Norton_DNS 13.00 ms
  •  CleanBrowsing 13.71 ms
  •  Quad9 15.28 ms
  •  OpenDNS 17.85 ms
  •  Comodo_DNS 21.71 ms
  •  Yandex_DNS 124.14 ms

Canada, Montreal

  • CleanBrowsing 15.28 ms
  • Google_DNS 16.71 ms
  • CloudFlare 17.00 ms
  • Quad9 17.71 ms
  • OpenDNS 23.42 ms
  • Norton_DNS 25.71 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 84.28 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 118.85 ms

USA, Atlanta

  • Quad9 1.71 ms
  • CloudFlare 1.85 ms
  • Google_DNS 4.14 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 15.42 ms
  • Norton_DNS 17.00 ms
  • OpenDNS 17.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 18.57 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 127.57 ms

USA, Dallas

  • CloudFlare 2.10 ms
  • Norton_DNS 3.14 ms
  • Quad9 3.42 ms
  • OpenDNS 6.71 ms
  • Google_DNS 7.14 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 10.85 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 38.42 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 153.28 ms

USA, Fremont

  • CloudFlare 2.00 ms
  • Norton_DNS 6.14 ms
  • Quad9 11.00 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 11.85 ms
  • Google_DNS 13.71 ms
  •  Comodo_DNS 22.00 ms
  • OpenDNS 24.42 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 185.00 ms

USA, San Francisco

  • Norton_DNS 2.00 ms
  • Quad9 2.14 ms
  • CloudFlare 2.85 ms
  • Google_DNS 12.28 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 21.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 22.14 ms
  • OpenDNS 28.00 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 180.42 ms

UK, London

  • CloudFlare 1.14 ms
  • Quad9 1.85 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 2.00 ms
  • Norton_DNS 6.57 ms
  • Google_DNS 7.71 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 9.85 ms
  • OpenDNS 9.85 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 35.57 ms

France, Paris

  • CloudFlare 5.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 10.00 ms
  • Google_DNS 10.14 ms
  • Quad9 12.71 ms
  • OpenDNS 13.57 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 14.85 ms
  • Norton_DNS 23.85 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 38.14 ms

NL, Amsterdam

  • CloudFlare 1.14 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 1.14 ms
  • Quad9 1.71 ms
  • Google_DNS 2.71 ms
  • OpenDNS 4.42 ms
  • Norton_DNS 9.85 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 12.85 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 40.42 ms

Germany, Frankfurt

  • Norton_DNS 1.14 ms
  • Quad9 1.14 ms
  • CloudFlare 4.42 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 5.00 ms
  • Google_DNS 8.14 ms
  • OpenDNS 8.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 19.57 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 28.85 ms

Japan, Tokyo

  • CloudFlare 2.00 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 2.14 ms
  • Norton_DNS 6.14 ms
  • Google_DNS 17.28 ms
  • Quad9 40.57 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 124.14 ms
  • OpenDNS 125.71 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 283.00 ms

Singapore

  • CloudFlare 1.14 ms
  • Google_DNS 2.00 ms
  • Quad9 2.14 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 2.28 ms
  • OpenDNS 28.14 ms
  • Norton_DNS 34.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 203.71 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 343.00 ms

India, Bang

  • CloudFlare 7.42 ms
  • Norton_DNS 21.28 ms
  • Quad9 38.85 ms
  • Google_DNS 40.71 ms
  • OpenDNS 59.42 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 138.71 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 150.57 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 171.57 ms

Australia, Sydney

  • CloudFlare 22.28 ms
  • Quad9 25.00 ms
  • Google_DNS 26.14 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 34.57 ms
  • OpenDNS 37.85 ms
  • Norton_DNS 164.57 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 186.28 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 352.14 ms

Australia, Brisbane

  • CloudFlare 3.00 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 13.57 ms
  • Quad9 17.71 ms
  • Google_DNS 66.14 ms
  • Norton_DNS 160.14 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 188.28 ms
  • OpenDNS 190.28 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 336.71 ms

Brasil, São Paulo

  •  CloudFlare 2.71 ms
  • CleanBrowsing 12.00 ms
  • Google_DNS 29.71 ms
  • Norton_DNS 114.71 ms
  • Quad9 114.71 ms
  • Comodo_DNS 129.85 ms
  • OpenDNS 213.14 ms
  • Yandex_DNS 238.14 ms

How to use newer versions of Cloudflare

So, hopefully, now you know which DNS network is the fastest in your location with this article!

I hope these statistics will help you get the most immediate internet access without any interruption. If you are facing any difficulties regarding this topic, let us know in the comment section, and we will get back to you as soon as possible to help. The statistics in this article are according to medium.com.

Have you used a DNS network before? If so, which DNS worked the best for you? Share your experience in the comments below.