The best DNS server to use, and how to pick one

Acutis · plain-English network help · updated June 2026

DNS is the system that turns a name like example.com into the numeric IP address your computer actually connects to. By default you use whatever DNS your internet provider gives you, but you can switch to a public resolver instead. Doing so can make lookups a little faster, improve privacy, or add filtering. Here are the well-known options and how to choose between them.

The best DNS server to use depends on what you want

There is no single best DNS server for everyone, because the public resolvers optimise for different things: raw speed, privacy, security filtering, or parental controls. The four most widely trusted, all free, are below with their real addresses.

Cloudflare — 1.1.1.1

• Addresses: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 (IPv6: 2606:4700:4700::1111).
• Focus: speed and privacy. Cloudflare states it does not sell your data or use it to target ads, and that it discards query logs quickly.
• Variants: 1.1.1.2 adds malware blocking; 1.1.1.3 adds malware and adult-content blocking.

Google Public DNS — 8.8.8.8

• Addresses: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888).
• Focus: reliability and broad global reach. Very widely used and consistently available.
• Note: no content filtering; it resolves everything.

Quad9 — 9.9.9.9

• Addresses: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 (IPv6: 2620:fe::fe).
• Focus: security and privacy. Run by a Swiss non-profit, Quad9 blocks domains known to host malware and phishing using threat intelligence, and does not log personal data.

OpenDNS — 208.67.222.222

• Addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
• Focus: filtering and parental controls. The free OpenDNS Home and OpenDNS FamilyShield (208.67.222.123 / 208.67.220.123) block adult content at the network level.

Speed vs privacy vs filtering

Think about which of these three matters most to you, because they pull in slightly different directions.

• Speed: the difference between good public resolvers is usually small, a few milliseconds, and depends on how close their nearest server is to you. The only honest way to know which is fastest from your location is to test it (see below).
• Privacy: if you would rather your provider not see every site you look up, Cloudflare and Quad9 both have strong, audited privacy positions. Note that switching DNS does not hide your traffic from your provider entirely; it only moves the name lookups.
• Filtering: if you want malware or adult-content blocking, choose a resolver built for it: Quad9 (malware), Cloudflare 1.1.1.2/1.1.1.3, or OpenDNS FamilyShield.

How to test which is fastest for you

Speed is location-dependent, so measure rather than guess. From a command line you can time a lookup against each resolver.

On Windows, using nslookup:

• nslookup example.com 1.1.1.1
• nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8
• nslookup example.com 9.9.9.9

On macOS or Linux, dig reports the query time directly: dig @1.1.1.1 example.com and read the "Query time" line. Run each a few times and compare. There are also dedicated benchmark tools (such as DNS Benchmark on Windows) that test many resolvers at once and rank them for your connection.

How to pick, simply

1. Want fast and private with no filtering? Cloudflare 1.1.1.1.
2. Want maximum reliability? Google 8.8.8.8.
3. Want built-in malware blocking? Quad9 9.9.9.9.
4. Want family filtering? OpenDNS FamilyShield or Cloudflare 1.1.1.3.

It is reversible at any time, so it is safe to try one for a week and switch if you do not like it. One honest caveat: changing DNS speeds up name lookups and can add filtering, but it does not increase your actual download speed or fix a weak Wi-Fi signal. If the rest of your connection is the problem, a new resolver will not change that.