DNS Propagation Checker
Compare the record returned by the world’s two largest public resolvers — Google (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) — to see whether a recent DNS change has taken hold.
Runs entirely in your browser using DNS over HTTPS. No data is stored.
What This Tool Checks
When you change a DNS record, the new value does not appear everywhere at once. Each resolver on the internet keeps its own cache, and that cache only refreshes when the record’s time-to-live expires. Until then, some resolvers serve the new value while others still hand out the old one. That gap is what people mean by propagation.
This checker queries the same record on Google Public DNS and Cloudflare DNS at the same moment, then compares the answers. When both agree, the change has reached the two resolvers most of your visitors rely on. When they disagree, the change is still working its way through.
How To Read The Results
- All resolvers agree means both Google and Cloudflare return the same value. For most real-world purposes, your change is live.
- Resolvers disagree means the two return different values. One cache has updated and the other has not — wait for the TTL to expire and check again.
- No record found means neither resolver has a record of this type. Confirm the record exists and that you picked the right type.
Each row also shows the TTL the resolver currently reports. A TTL near the record’s configured value means the resolver fetched it fresh; a small, shrinking TTL means it is serving a cached copy that will refresh soon.
How Long Propagation Takes
The TTL on the record sets the ceiling. A record with a one-hour TTL can take up to an hour to refresh on a resolver that cached the old value just before you made the change. Lowering the TTL a day before a planned change shortens that window. Google Public DNS also caps every cached TTL at six hours. Even a record configured with a 24-hour TTL refreshes there within six. Name server changes at the registrar are the slow exception. Those depend on the parent zone and registrar timing and can run 24 to 48 hours. Confirm the registrar side with a WHOIS lookup.
The Negative Caching Trap
There is one delay this tool helps you catch that most people miss. If a resolver is asked for a record before the record exists, it caches the “no such record” answer. RFC 2308 calls this negative caching, and the miss persists for the SOA minimum time. The new record then stays invisible on that resolver even after you publish it. The fix: create the record first, then query. If you queried too early, use the public cache-flush pages — Google (dns.google/cache) and Cloudflare (one.one.one.one/purge-cache) both purge a single name on demand.
What This Tool Can And Cannot Show
This is a resolver-level check, not a global map. Google and Cloudflare both run anycast networks, so your query reaches the node nearest you rather than a fixed city. That makes this tool excellent for answering “have the major public resolvers picked up my change,” but it will not show propagation across dozens of specific countries. For a worldwide geographic view, a dedicated probe-network service is the right tool.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does DNS propagation take?
The record’s TTL sets the ceiling. Most A-record changes appear on major resolvers within minutes to a few hours. Google Public DNS caps cached TTLs at six hours, so even high-TTL records refresh there within that window. Name server changes at the registrar are slower and can take 24 to 48 hours.
Why do Google and Cloudflare show different DNS results?
Each resolver keeps its own independent cache. One may have fetched your record just before the change and will serve the old value until its TTL expires. Both also run anycast networks, so different nodes can hold different cache states. Disagreement usually means the change is still propagating.
Can I speed up DNS propagation?
Lower the TTL a day before a planned change so caches refresh faster afterward. You cannot force every remote cache to update, but Google and Cloudflare both offer public cache-flush pages that purge a single record on demand. Use those after the change, then re-check here.
Related Tools & Resources
To inspect every record on a domain at once, use the DNS Record Checker. Checking specific types? The MX lookup and TXT lookup go deeper on mail and verification records. To go the other way and find a hostname from an IP, try the reverse DNS lookup. For the bigger picture, read how DNS works and the rundown of every DNS record type. Changing mail records? Verify them with the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checker. New to the terminology? The networking glossary defines TTL, anycast, negative caching, and other terms used on this page. Everything lives in the networking tools hub.