Modern Pro Blog

10 Web Hosts DNS Performance Compared

Written by Stefen Phelps | Aug 15, 2018 1:19:32 PM

Having a fast DNS provider is critical when optimizing your website for speed – especially when optimizing for a quick TTFB (time to first byte). Here are some of the most popular web hosts and their DNS speeds ranked from slowest to fastest. All tests were done from the DNS Speed Test tool by neustar using the hosting company’s first nameserver hostname as the benchmark.

10. SiteGround

ns1.siteground.com

Siteground’s average DNS latency: 55ms

9. DreamHost

ns1.dreamhost.com

DreamHost’s average DNS latency: 46ms

8. Media Temple

ns1.mediatemple.net

Media Temple’s average DNS latency: 35ms

7. InMotion Hosting

ns1.inmotionhosting.com

InMotion Hosting’s average DNS latency: 34ms

6. GoDaddy

ns1.godaddy.com

GoDaddy’s average DNS latency: 17ms

5. Flywheel

ns1.getflywheel.com

Flywheel’s average DNS latency: 6ms (CloudFlare)

3. BlueHost

ns1.bluehost.com

BlueHost’s average DNS latency: 5ms (Oracle + Dyn)

4. Host Gator

ns1.hostgator.com

Host Gator’s average DNS latency: 4ms (Oracle + Dyn)

2. Digital Ocean

ns1.digitalocean.com

Digital Ocean’s average DNS latency: 3ms (CloudFlare)

1. WP Engine

ns1.wpengine.com

WP Engine’s average DNS latency: 3ms (CloudFlare)

Conclusion

As you can see, the hosting companies that manage their own DNS are much slower than the companies that point their DNS to networks specifically designed for DNS hosting (Oracle + Dyn and CloudFlare for example). You may think that the difference between 55 milliseconds and 3 milliseconds is not noticeable. Which, for the most part, you would be correct. But considering the average webpage has 75 HTTP requests and each one of those requests could potentially take 50 milliseconds… that’s 3+ seconds of additional loading time! 😲

If you are still using your hosting company’s default nameservers, you may want to consider moving your DNS to a new provider.