DNS Propagation Checker
Check DNS propagation of any record type against more than 130 public resolvers worldwide and watch the answers land live on a map.
About DNS Propagation Checker
The DNS Propagation Checker sends the same query to a large fleet of independent public resolvers and shows you exactly what each one currently returns. When you change a record at your DNS provider, the old value can linger in caches around the world until its TTL expires. This tool lets you see that rollout in progress: which locations already serve the new value, which still hold the old one, and where nothing resolves at all. It answers the everyday question behind a launch or a migration, is my DNS change live yet, without you having to trust a single vantage point.
Each resolver is queried directly over the DNS protocol (UDP with EDNS0, falling back to TCP when a response is truncated), and results stream back one by one as they arrive rather than making you wait for the slowest server. For every resolver you get the returned records, the response latency in milliseconds, and the resolver's location, plotted on an interactive world map and listed in a sortable table. A running tally shows how many resolvers report the record so you can gauge propagation at a glance. Supported types include A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV, CAA, DNSKEY and DS.
The resolver network spans more than 70 countries, from major public resolvers to regional and European operators such as DNS4EU, so you see how your change looks from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania at the same time. Because roughly a third of the vantage points sit in EU countries, it is a practical fit for teams that want a European read on propagation rather than a purely US-centric one. The checks run server-side from our own EU infrastructure, with no third-party lookup services in the path.
Propagation is really about caching, not a global broadcast. There is no central DNS database that flips a switch; instead every resolver holds records until their TTL runs out, then fetches fresh data from your authoritative name servers. That is why a change can look live in one city and stale in another for minutes or hours. Lowering a record's TTL before you make a change shortens that window, and this tool is the fastest way to confirm when the window has closed everywhere that matters to you.
How to use it
- 1Enter the hostname you want to check, for example example.eu or www.example.eu.
- 2Pick the record type from the dropdown (A is the default; choose MX for mail, TXT for SPF or verification records, NS for delegation, and so on).
- 3Select Check propagation and watch results stream in on the map and in the table as each resolver answers.
- 4Read the summary count to see how many resolvers already return your record, and scan the table for any that still serve an old value or report Timeout or No record.
- 5Re-run the check after a few minutes to track progress; propagation is complete when every relevant location returns the expected value.
Common use cases
- -Confirming that a new A or AAAA record is live worldwide before you point traffic at a fresh server or CDN.
- -Verifying MX, SPF or DKIM changes have propagated before cutting over email so messages are not lost or rejected.
- -Diagnosing reports that a site works for some users but not others, by spotting resolvers still serving stale records.
- -Validating a domain migration or name-server change from a European perspective alongside global vantage points.
- -Checking that a DNS-based domain verification (TXT record) is visible to third parties before you click confirm on their side.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does DNS propagation take?
- DNS propagation is governed by each record's TTL. A resolver keeps serving a cached value until the TTL expires, then fetches the new one, so full propagation usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to 24-48 hours depending on the TTL you set. Lowering the TTL before a change shortens the wait.
- Why do different resolvers show different results?
- Each public resolver caches records independently and refreshes them on its own TTL schedule. During a change, resolvers that have already expired the old value show the new record while others still serve the cached one, which is exactly the transition this tool visualises.
- Which DNS record types can I check propagation for?
- You can check A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV, CAA, DNSKEY and DS records. This covers website addresses, mail routing, text records like SPF and DMARC, delegation, and DNSSEC-related records.
- Is this a whatsmydns alternative?
- Yes. It serves the same purpose as whatsmydns.net, querying many geographically distributed public resolvers at once and mapping the answers, but it is European and self-hosted, runs from EU infrastructure with no third-party trackers, and includes regional EU resolvers such as DNS4EU.
- Does the checker query recursive resolvers or authoritative servers?
- It queries public recursive resolvers, which is what shows you real-world caching behaviour as end users experience it. To query a domain's authoritative name servers directly and bypass all caching, use the Authoritative DNS Lookup tool instead.
- Do I need to upload anything or create an account?
- No. You enter a domain and a record type and the lookups run from our EU servers. There is no sign-up, no data upload, and no third-party lookup service in the request path.