ClouDNS
Sofia DNS host with a free tier, Anycast plans and GeoDNS from $9.95 a month
At a glance
| Company | Cloud DNS Ltd |
|---|---|
| Category | Managed DNS Providers |
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Founded | Not stated |
| EU Presence | Yes - Bulgaria (EU) |
| Data Location | not stated on the pages we read |
| Open Source | No |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
| Self-Hosting | No |
| Main Features | Free DNS plan, Premium Anycast DNS, DDoS Protected DNS, GeoDNS, DNS failover, DNSSEC, dynamic DNS, mail forwards |
| Pricing | Free DNS: 1 zone, 50 records, 500K queries a month; Premium DNS from $2.95/month; DDoS Protected S $5.95/month, M $11.95/month, L $39.95/month; GeoDNS from $9.95/month |
| Best For | Small sites and agencies that want a free starter zone and a cheap path to Anycast, failover and GeoDNS |
| Replaces | Amazon Route 53 |
Review in detail
ClouDNS states that the data controller for its services is Cloud DNS Ltd in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the European Union. Its privacy policy covers DNS hosting, domain registration and related infrastructure services.
The ClouDNS site lists a Free DNS plan, a Premium DNS plan, DDoS Protected DNS plans and a separate GeoDNS plan. The pages we read give a price in dollars for every paid tier.
What does the ClouDNS free plan include?
ClouDNS lists its Free DNS plan as free forever, with 4 unicast DNS servers, 1 DNS zone and 50 DNS records. The plan allows 500K DNS queries per month, 1 mail forward and 1 dynamic DNS hostname.
ClouDNS says the Anycast network is included during the trial period of the paid plans. Plans are priced in dollars, which matters for euro budgets.
How do the paid ClouDNS plans scale?
ClouDNS sells Premium DNS from $2.95 per month and DDoS Protected DNS from $5.95 per month. The DDoS Protected S plan covers 5 zones, 200 records and 5M queries a month.
The M plan at $11.95 per month covers 50 zones and 150M queries, and the L plan at $39.95 per month covers 400 zones and 1B queries. ClouDNS also offers an Enterprise tier with unlimited zones, on request.
ClouDNS as a European alternative to Amazon Route 53
ClouDNS bills by plan, where Amazon Route 53 bills per hosted zone and per million queries. A fixed monthly plan is easier to forecast than query-based billing.
ClouDNS offers GeoDNS and DNS failover checks, which cover part of what Route 53 routing policies do. Route 53 stays stronger for teams that already run their stack inside AWS.
Known limits
ClouDNS prices its plans in dollars and lists its free plan with a single zone and 50 records, so a portfolio of domains needs a paid tier fast. The pages we read do not state where customer data is stored. The Free plan includes no DNS failover checks, and paid tiers include between 1 and 3. Teams that want a free unlimited tier should look at Gcore or bunny.net.
Is ClouDNS right for you?
Small businesses, freelancers and agencies that want a free starter zone and a predictable monthly plan with a path to Anycast, GeoDNS and failover.
What works, what does not
Pros
- Free plan with no time limit
- Paid plans from $2.95 a month
- GeoDNS and DNS failover available
- DNSSEC on the paid plans
- Free zone migration with no limit on the number of zones
Cons
- Free plan allows only 1 zone and 50 records
- Prices are in dollars
- Data location not stated on the pages we read
- Free plan includes no failover checks
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free plan with no time limit
- Paid plans from $2.95 a month
- GeoDNS and DNS failover available
- DNSSEC on the paid plans
- Free zone migration with no limit on the number of zones
Cons
- Free plan allows only 1 zone and 50 records
- Prices are in dollars
- Data location not stated on the pages we read
- Free plan includes no failover checks
Alternatives to ClouDNS
Further European managed dns providers to compare:
See all European managed dns providers or compare them directly against Amazon Route 53 on our alternatives page.
FAQ
Yes. ClouDNS is run by Cloud DNS Ltd in Sofia, Bulgaria. It covers DNS hosting, GeoDNS and failover, while Amazon Route 53 is an Amazon Web Services product.
Yes. The Free DNS plan is listed as free forever with 1 DNS zone, 50 records and 500K queries per month.
ClouDNS lists Premium DNS from $2.95 per month, DDoS Protected DNS from $5.95 per month and GeoDNS from $9.95 per month.