TL;DR: Cloudflare DNS fits most sites that already use Cloudflare β authoritative DNS on Free, with analytics and custom NS gated up the plan ladder. Bunny DNS fits teams on bunny.net who want DNS next to the CDN. Amazon Route 53 fits AWS estates that will pay $0.50 per hosted zone plus query charges. Google Cloud DNS fits GCP shops on a similar hosted-zone + query bill.
DNS management is the control plane for name records and routing. It is not a registrar (though some vendors sell both) and not a CDN, even when Cloudflare bundles them.
Every entry uses the same fields: published pricing, unit (plan vs zone vs query), routing extras and the main limitation. The order below is not a quality ranking. Cloudflare Free first. Usage-priced cloud DNS follows.
DNS management software compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Unit | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare DNS | Included on Free / Pro $20 / Business $200. Advanced NS and some setups are Enterprise | Cloudflare plan, not $0.50/zone | Sites already on Cloudflare | Visit β |
| Bunny DNS | On bunny.net/pricing with the CDN account ($1 CDN minimum is a separate product floor) | Bunny account / DNS product card | DNS beside Bunny CDN | Visit β |
| Amazon Route 53 | $0.50/zone/mo first 25 zones, then $0.10. Queries from $0.40 per million standard | Hosted zones + query type | AWS routing and failover | Visit β |
| Google Cloud DNS | cloud.google.com/dns/pricing β hosted zones + queries | Zones + queries | GCP estates | Visit β |
Route 53 zone and query rates were read from aws.amazon.com/route53/pricing on 19 September 2026. Cloudflare DNS feature gates follow developers.cloudflare.com plan tables (custom nameservers on Business+; advanced NS on Enterprise).
One vendor wraps DNS in a $0 plan. Two vendors sell zones and millions of queries.
Queries are the quiet line
A busy zone on Route 53 is cheap until you use latency or geolocation query types (higher per million). Cloudflare Free does not print that line item. High-query consumer apps should model both.
The four providers in detail
1. Cloudflare DNS
FREE WITH THE ZONE
Best for: websites that already proxy or plan to proxy on Cloudflare and want authoritative DNS without a per-zone AWS bill.
| Published pricing | DNS is on every Cloudflare plan. Free includes core DNS. Pro $20 and Business $200 add plan features. Custom nameservers: Business+. Advanced nameservers: Enterprise Foundation DNS |
| Unit | Plan subscription, not hosted-zone SKUs |
| Routing extras | Load balancing, spectrum and some traffic features are add-on products |
| Free plan / trial | Permanent Free DNS |
| Main limitation | Partial/CNAME setup and zone transfers are plan-gated. Free is full-setup only |
- Use Free if you can point nameservers at Cloudflare.
- Keep the registrar where it is. DNS β domain purchase.
- See the CDN comparison for cache versus DNS.
2. Bunny DNS
DNS NEXT TO THE CDN
Best for: teams standardising on bunny.net for delivery who want one vendor for records too.
| Published pricing | bunny.net DNS product card. CDN still has a $1 monthly minimum if you use that product |
| Unit | Bunny account |
| Routing extras | Not Route 53βs full routing policy catalogue |
| Free plan / trial | Account-level; confirm current DNS-only minimum |
| Main limitation | Do not pick Bunny DNS to replace AWS traffic policies |
- If Bunny CDN is already the origin shield, adding DNS can simplify cutover.
- Keep Route 53 if you depend on alias/health-check patterns already built.
- TTL and record limits belong on the live docs.
3. Amazon Route 53
ZONES PLUS QUERIES
Best for: AWS architectures that need alias records, health checks and routing policies next to ELB/CloudFront.
| Published pricing | $0.50 per hosted zone/mo (first 25), $0.10 after. Standard queries $0.40/million (first billion). Latency/geo/IP query types cost more. Private zones: no query charge |
| Unit | Zones + query class + optional health checks/resolver |
| Routing extras | Latency, failover, weighted, geo, IP-based |
| Free plan / trial | No Cloudflare-style $0 public DNS. Deleted-in-12-hours test zones are not billed for the zone fee |
| Main limitation | A hundred unused zones still cost $0.50 each every month |
- Delete abandoned hosted zones. They do not prorate.
- Health checks are a separate line β count them.
- Do not move a simple brochure site off Cloudflare Free just to βbe on AWS.β
4. Google Cloud DNS
GCP ZONE METER
Best for: estates already on Google Cloud that want DNS in the same billing account.
| Published pricing | cloud.google.com/dns/pricing β hosted zones and queries with public/private split |
| Unit | Zones + query volume |
| Routing extras | Routing policies and peering as documented today |
| Free plan / trial | GCP credits / free tier rules β not Cloudflare Free |
| Main limitation | Same shape as Route 53. Pick the cloud you already run |
- Stay in-cloud if GCLB and Cloud DNS aliases are already designed.
- Model query volume like Route 53.
- Registrar can remain independent.
Kurums Match: which one fits your situation
Marketing site, already on Cloudflare
Cloudflare DNS on Free.
Delivery already on Bunny
Bunny DNS, if records are simple.
Failover between AWS load balancers
Route 53. Budget zones + query type.
The same, but GCP
Cloud DNS.
Buying tip: list hosted zones and last monthβs query volume by type. That sheet is Route 53 vs Cloud DNS. Cloudflare Free ignores it.
How this comparison was put together
Cloudflare DNS docs, Route 53 public pricing, Bunny and Cloud DNS pages, 19 September 2026. No paid placement. Kurums did not run a DNS failover drill on all four.
Order is $0 plan DNS first. No badge reflects a commercial relationship.
Frequently asked questions
Is DNS the same as a domain registrar?
No. You can buy the domain at one vendor and point nameservers at another.
Will moving DNS cause downtime?
It can. Lower TTLs first, then change NS, then wait.
Does Cloudflare Free hide my real IP?
Only if you proxy the record (orange cloud) and lock down origin. DNS-only is grey cloud.
Did we measure resolution latency?
No. Test from the regions you care about.
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