Free tool
DNS propagation checker
A DNS propagation checker shows whether a DNS change has reached the resolvers people actually use. Pick a record type, type a domain, and this asks four public resolvers at once — Cloudflare, Google, AliDNS and DNS.SB — and shows where they agree, where they still hold an old answer, and how long that old answer has left.
Updated · asks four public DNS resolvers live, from your browser
What propagation actually is
Nothing is pushed anywhere when you change a DNS record. The change takes effect on your nameservers at once. What takes time is every resolver in the world that already cached the old answer: each one keeps its copy until the record’s TTL runs out, then asks your nameservers again and gets the new one. "Propagation" is the old copies expiring, cache by cache.
That is why the TTL column matters more than anything else on this page. It is the number of seconds each resolver will keep serving what it has. When the answers disagree, the longest TTL still running is the most you have to wait for these four to agree.
The four resolvers, and why only four
This page runs in your browser, so it can only ask resolvers that let a web page read their answers. On 5 November 2026 four large public resolvers did: Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Google (8.8.8.8), AliDNS (223.5.5.5) and DNS.SB. Quad9, NextDNS and AdGuard answer the same queries but do not allow a web page to read the reply, so they cannot be included without a server in the middle.
Not a world map. Each of these resolvers runs in many cities and answers from the one nearest you. Tools that plot forty pins on a map run their own servers in those places. This one shows what four of the most-used resolvers hold right now, from where you are, and never sends the query through our servers.
Reading the result
- Same answer from all four: the change has reached these resolvers. Others, including your internet provider’s, may still be catching up if they cached the record more recently.
- Resolvers disagree: at least one still holds an earlier answer. The row that differs from the majority is highlighted, and the note above the table says how long the oldest copy has left.
- Disagreement by design: large sites and CDNs deliberately give different addresses to different places. If every answer is a valid address for the same service, nothing is wrong.
- Zone serial: the serial number from each resolver’s copy of the SOA record. Most DNS hosts raise it with every change, so a resolver showing a lower serial is holding an older copy of the zone’s SOA. It is cached separately from the record you asked about, and a domain served by two DNS providers can show two serials that are both current, so treat it as a hint.
How to make a change propagate faster
Lower the record’s TTL before the change, not after. A record with a TTL of a day keeps old copies alive for up to a day; drop it to five minutes at least one full old TTL ahead of the move, make the change, and raise it again once everything agrees.
Nameserver changes are the slow case, because the delegation lives at the registry and its TTL is set there. For .com and .net it is two days, which is where the advice to allow 24 to 48 hours comes from. Nothing you do at your DNS host shortens it.
Nameserver changes are also a warning sign
Moving DNS hosts is a planned nameserver change. A nameserver change nobody planned is how most domain hijacks start: whoever controls the nameservers controls the site and the email. DropPerch reads each watched domain’s registry record and, on paid plans, emails you when its nameservers or registrar change. It does not watch individual DNS records. Every new account gets the paid features free for 14 days.
Common questions
How long does DNS propagation take?
As long as the record's TTL. A record with a 300-second TTL reaches most resolvers within five minutes; one with a one-day TTL can take a day. Nameserver changes for .com and .net can take up to two days because the registry sets that TTL.
Why do resolvers show different answers?
Each resolver caches answers separately and keeps each one until its TTL runs out, so a resolver that cached the record before your change still serves the old value. Large sites also hand different addresses to different places on purpose.
Which resolvers does this check?
Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), Google (8.8.8.8), AliDNS (223.5.5.5) and DNS.SB. They are the large public resolvers that let a web page read their DNS-over-HTTPS answers directly, so the check runs in your browser.
Can I speed up DNS propagation?
Only before the change: lower the TTL a full old TTL ahead of time. Once old copies are cached, they expire on their own schedule. Some resolvers, including Cloudflare and Google, offer a public page to purge one name from their cache.
Is this DNS propagation checker free?
Yes, with no signup and no limit. It runs in your browser and asks the resolvers directly, so it costs us nothing to serve.
Know when the nameservers change
A nameserver change you did not make is how most domain hijacks begin. DropPerch reads the registry record for every domain you watch and emails you before it expires, and on paid plans the moment its nameservers or registrar change. Any registrar, no transfer, no card: 25 domains free for the first 25 accounts, 5 after.