What is DNS propagation?

When you change a DNS record, such as pointing your domain to a new server, the change isn't seen everywhere at once. Public DNS resolvers keep the answers they looked up in a cache for as long as the record's TTL (time to live) allows, so each one keeps returning the old records until its copy expires. Until then, some visitors reach the old server and some the new one. That gradual spread of a change is called DNS propagation, and it usually takes from a few minutes to a day or two, depending on the old record's TTL.

Tool description

Enter a Domain, pick a Record type and press Check propagation. Our server asks six public DNS resolvers for the same records at the same time and lists each answer side by side:

Resolver Server
Google 8.8.8.8
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1
Quad9 9.9.9.9
OpenDNS 208.67.222.222
Level3 209.244.0.3
Verisign 64.6.64.6

Each row shows the resolver and its Answer: the records it returns, or No records, Domain not found or No answer. The summary above the table says whether every resolver that answered returns the same records. When they differ, the change is most likely still propagating: check again later.

AI assistants connected to the Rapid Tool Set MCP server can run the same check as dns_propagation_checker.

Tips

  • Websites behind a CDN or geographic DNS can give each resolver a different address for good, so a mismatch in A or AAAA records doesn't always mean a change is pending.
  • Before a planned move, lower the record's TTL a day ahead, so the change spreads faster when you make it.
  • Domain not found at some resolvers right after you register a domain or add a subdomain means they cached the "doesn't exist" answer; it expires on its own.

Features

  • Six public resolvers asked at once
  • Nine record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV and CAA
  • One-line summary of whether the answers match