DNS Propagation Checker
Added or changed a DNS record? See if it is live at six public DNS providers at once. Add the value you expect, and the checker tells you which providers have it, how long the others keep their old copy, and what to fix if it never shows up.
- A, CNAME, TXT, MX, NS and AAAA
- Runs in your browser
- imisofts never sees what you check
Asks Google Public DNS, Cloudflare, AliDNS, DNS.SB, Control D and DNS4EU over HTTPS, straight from your browser.
How to check DNS propagation
Three fields, one button. The answer comes back in a few seconds.
-
1
Type the full record name
For example
test.yourdomain.com,_dmarc.yourdomain.comoryourdomain.comitself, and pick the record type. -
2
Add the value you expect
The IP address, the CNAME target or the text you saved at your DNS host. It is optional: without it, the checker shows what each provider answers and whether they agree.
-
3
Read the answer
A check mark for every provider that has it, the time left for the ones that do not, and a plain-English note when something will not fix itself.
What each answer means
One line per DNS provider, so you can see exactly where your record is and is not live yet.
- Live
- The provider has the value you expect. When all six show it, the record is live everywhere this tool checks.
- Other value
- The provider has a different value, usually the old one from before your change. It switches when its copy expires, shown as "checks again in". If every provider shows the same other value, compare the record at your DNS host with the value you typed.
- Not found
- The provider has no such record. Right after you add one, this is usually a cached "not found" from an earlier lookup, which expires at the time shown. If it stays, check the name and that the record was saved at your DNS host: the checker tells you which host that is.
- No answer
- The provider could not be reached, or it returned an error. A SERVFAIL from most providers points at the domain's name servers, not at your connection.
Why a DNS change takes time to show up
DNS propagation is not a push to the whole internet. It is every DNS provider keeping its own copy for a while.
Cached copies and TTL
When a DNS provider looks your record up, it keeps the answer for the record's TTL (time to live), as set in RFC 1035. Until that copy expires, it keeps giving out the old value. The TTL it returns counts down, which is how the checker knows the time left at each provider.
A cached "not found"
Providers also remember that a name does not exist, for the negative caching time in your zone's SOA record (RFC 2308). Look a name up a minute before you add it, and that provider can keep saying "not found" for that long, often between 5 minutes and an hour.
The Cloudflare proxy
When Cloudflare's orange cloud is on, a record answers with Cloudflare's own addresses. That is right for a website, but a tracking domain or a service that needs your real address never shows up. The checker flags it, and waiting will not change it: switch the record to "DNS only".
Saved at the wrong place
A record only counts at the DNS host your domain's name servers point to. If you added it at your registrar while the domain uses Cloudflare, or the other way round, it never shows up. The checker reads the name servers and names the host.
Records to check when you set up a sending domain
The records cold email and marketing tools ask you to add, and where they live. Check each one here once you have saved it.
- SPF (TXT)
- At the domain itself, for example
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all. One SPF record per name only: the checker flags two. - DKIM (TXT)
- At
selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com, where the selector comes from your email provider, such asgoogle. - DMARC (TXT)
- At
_dmarc.yourdomain.com, for examplev=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]. - MX
- At the domain itself, pointing at your mail provider, for example
1 smtp.google.com. - Tracking (CNAME)
- A subdomain such as
track.yourdomain.compointing at your sending tool's tracking host. On Cloudflare it must be "DNS only".
For TXT records, paste the full text as the expected value. Then check the records themselves: our guide covers SPF, DKIM and DMARC for cold email and MX records.
Check SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX in one click
SPF, DKIM & DMARC Checker for Chrome
Type a domain and get a Pass, Check or Fix for its SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX records, with a plain-English fix for every problem. Free, with no permissions to grant.
See the free extension
Questions about DNS propagation
How long does DNS propagation take?
Usually minutes, sometimes a few hours. A new record shows up at each DNS provider the first time it is asked for it. A changed record keeps its old value at a provider until that provider's copy expires, which is the record's TTL: often 5 minutes to 1 hour, sometimes a day. A name that was looked up before it existed can stay "not found" for the zone's negative caching time, often 5 minutes to 1 hour. Changing name servers at your registrar is the slow one: the old name servers can stay cached for up to 48 hours. The checker shows the time left at each provider.
Why does my record show at some DNS providers but not others?
Each provider keeps its own copy of every answer for as long as the TTL allows. Providers that asked before your change still hold the old answer, and the ones that asked after it already have the new one. Each one checks again when its copy expires, so they all agree within the longest time shown.
What does "checks again in" mean?
It is the time left on that provider's cached copy, read from the TTL it returned. When it reaches zero, the provider asks your DNS host again the next time someone looks the name up, and gets the current record.
Can I make DNS propagation faster?
Partly. Google and Cloudflare let anyone clear their copy of a name: use Flush Google and Purge Cloudflare, which the checker links when they hold a stale copy. For the others, wait for the time shown. Next time, lower the record's TTL a day before you change it, and do not look a name up before you add it, so no provider caches a "not found".
Why is my CNAME record not showing?
Two common reasons. If the domain uses Cloudflare and the record is proxied (orange cloud), Cloudflare answers with its own addresses and never shows the CNAME. Tracking domains for cold email tools need "DNS only" (grey cloud). And a CNAME cannot be used at the root of a domain, such as yourdomain.com itself: DNS hosts offer ALIAS, ANAME or CNAME flattening there instead. The checker spots both.
Which DNS providers does this tool check?
Google Public DNS, Cloudflare, AliDNS, DNS.SB, Control D and DNS4EU. They are large public DNS resolvers, and each one answers from its own data center nearest to you. So the checker shows what these six providers see, not every location in the world. They include Google and Cloudflare, two of the most widely used public resolvers, plus providers based in Europe and China.
Does imisofts see the records I check?
No. Your browser sends each lookup straight to the six DNS providers over HTTPS, and they answer under their own privacy policies. imisofts does not receive the names or values you check, and the page does not save them. Our site analytics only counts that a check was run, with the record type and the result.
Is the DNS propagation checker free?
Yes. It is free, with no sign-up and no account. imisofts makes it because we set up sending domains for B2B teams, and checking that records are live is part of that work.
Want your sending domains set up and checked for you?
imisofts sets up the domains, inboxes, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, tracking and warm-up for B2B teams, and checks every record before you send.
Google Public DNS is a trademark of Google LLC. imisofts is not affiliated with Google, Cloudflare, Alibaba Cloud, DNS.SB, Control D or DNS4EU.