The best DNS monitoring tools are Hyperping for fast DNS checks with on-call and a status page, Oh Dear for authoritative nameserver comparison and change history, Site24x7 for DNSSEC and global locations inside a suite, UptimeRobot for inexpensive DNS checks next to HTTP, and DNS Spy for dedicated DNS security and WHOIS.
I analyzed 24 current products and shortlisted five. Every tool below can query DNS on a schedule and alert when the answer is missing or wrong. Lookup sites, DNS filters, and provider control panels are further down.
Prices were checked on 15 September 2026. Oh Dear's DNS check defaults to every two hours. Hyperping DNS monitors use the same 30-second interval as HTTP on Essentials. Pick Oh Dear when you want change history across every authoritative nameserver and can live with that slower poll.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperping | Fast DNS checks with on-call | $24/mo annually | Paid only; one record type per monitor; no zone diff |
| Oh Dear | Record changes across authoritative nameservers | Trial; Solo €15/mo for 2 sites | Default DNS interval is 2 hours |
| Site24x7 | DNSSEC and 130-plus locations | Free; paid from about $9/mo annually | Suite console; pack pricing |
| UptimeRobot | Cheap DNS checks next to HTTP | Free HTTP; DNS on paid from $12/mo | No on-call; no zone audit |
| DNS Spy | Dedicated DNS security and WHOIS | Trial; Personal $9/mo for 10 domains | Personal is email-only; Slack and PagerDuty are Enterprise |
Why you should trust this guide
I'm Léo, founder of Hyperping. Yes, that means I have a stake in one of these tools. But I've watched teams pick competitors when they were the better fit, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. My goal isn't to convince you Hyperping is always the answer. It's to help you understand which tool actually solves your problem.
Hyperping loses on DNS change history, comparing every authoritative nameserver in one check, DNSSEC validation, WHOIS, and phishing-domain scans. We also sell DNS only on paid plans. If you needed a zone audit every two hours, Oh Dear is the more honest buy. If you needed 100 domains graded for security, look at DNS Spy.
I went through vendor docs and pricing pages, G2 where it exists, and the DNS-specific pages for Oh Dear, Site24x7, Hyperping, and DNS Spy. I did not run all 24 products against the same zone. Where I only had vendor docs, I say so. Prices were last checked on 15 September 2026.
To make the shortlist, a product had to query DNS on a schedule, be generally available, and have enough documentation to describe the check. I left out one-off lookup sites (dnschecker.org and similar) and DNS filters.
What is DNS monitoring?
DNS monitoring sends scheduled queries for a hostname and record type, then treats a missing, wrong, or disagreeing answer as a failure. A useful check names the record (A, MX, NS, TXT, and the rest), an expected value, and often which nameserver to ask. Failed checks should page the same people who get HTTP outages. Users experience DNS failures as "the site is down."
HTTP monitors can keep passing while DNS is already wrong, because resolvers cache and your laptop is on a different resolver than a customer in another country. The failures you care about:
- The domain expired and nothing resolves.
- The record still resolves, to an IP you did not set.
- MX or SPF changed and mail bounces while the website looks fine.
- One authoritative nameserver still serves the old value after a migration.
- Resolution is so slow that every page load pays for it.
- DNSSEC is broken or missing when you thought it was on.
- A dangling CNAME points at a cloud resource you deleted.
| Method | Traffic | Typical environment | Primary job | Common failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNS record monitoring | Scripted queries | Production | Catch a wrong or missing record | Expected value stale after a real change |
| DNS lookup | On demand | Anywhere | See the answer right now | Nobody runs it after hours |
| HTTP monitoring | Scripted HTTP | Production | Catch a broken site | Cached DNS hides a record change |
| DNS server telemetry | Agent or query logs | Your resolvers | Watch latency, cache, and daemon health | Blind to a record you do not host |
Hyperping, UptimeRobot, and Site24x7 treat DNS as another monitor type next to HTTP. Oh Dear and DNS Spy treat DNS as a change-detection product. Datadog's network DNS views are closer to telemetry. Those are different purchases.
What should a DNS monitoring tool catch?
I read product docs, G2, and the customer interviews I already had. The same DNS problems keep showing up.
The site was up and nobody could resolve it
Servers answered, and HTTP checks from a warm resolver still passed, while customers on a different resolver got NXDOMAIN. A DNS monitor with an expected A record is the check that pages first.
Hyperping's DNS docs put it as expired domains, hijacked or misconfigured records, and propagation failures.
The A record moved and HTTP still looked fine
Caches keep the old IP for the length of the TTL. Oh Dear's pitch is to see the record change, not only the outage it caused. Their DNS check queries every authoritative nameserver it discovers and fails when one disagrees.
Mail broke and the website was fine
MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC live in DNS, so a website pinger will not tell you. Hyperping and Site24x7 can watch MX or TXT as their own monitors. Oh Dear flags some mail mistakes as advisory findings that do not page you.
Nameservers disagreed after a migration
One NS still has the old zone. A single dig returns whichever answered first. Oh Dear names the nameserver that differs. Hyperping can approximate this with one monitor per nameserver and the same expected answer.
I need this on the same rota as HTTP
A DNS failure at 3am still looks like an outage to users. Hyperping and Site24x7 attach DNS to the same alert path as HTTP. Oh Dear routes per site. DNS Spy Personal is email-only; Slack and PagerDuty are Enterprise.
I wanted a zone audit, not a pinger
DNSSEC, dangling CNAMEs, WHOIS, look-alike domains belong to DNS Spy and Site24x7. A 30-second A-record check will not grow into that. Hyperping will not do that job.
DNS monitoring capability comparison
Oh Dear's DNS check defaults to every two hours. Hyperping DNS monitors share the HTTP interval: 30 seconds on Essentials, 20 seconds on Business.
| Capability | Hyperping | Oh Dear | Site24x7 | UptimeRobot | DNS Spy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record types | A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV, CAA, PTR | Discovered records on the hostname | 12 types including DS, DNSKEY | DNS monitor type | Full record inventory |
| Expected answer | Substring match | Change vs previous state | Regex | Yes | Change alerts |
| Specific nameserver | Yes | All authoritative NS | Yes | Location-specific | Nameserver sync |
| Auth NS comparison | DIY, one monitor each | Built in | Propagation monitoring | No | Yes |
| Change history / diff | Monitor logs | Timestamped history | Reports | Limited | 1-year history |
| DNSSEC | No | Advisory CAA and structure | Yes | No | Enterprise |
| Default interval | 30s on Essentials | 2 hours | Suite polling | 60s Solo, 30s Team | Vendor "around the clock" |
| On-call | Yes | Alert routing | Yes, in the suite | No | PagerDuty on Enterprise |
| WHOIS / domain expiry | Not a WHOIS product | Separate domain check | Yes | Paid domain expiry | Yes, all plans |
| Plan gate | Paid only | Every plan | In the website pack | Paid | Personal 10 domains |
What 10 DNS checks cost
Take 10 DNS monitors (for example A, AAAA, MX, NS, and TXT on two hostnames). The table is a model, not a quote. Prices checked 15 September 2026.
| Tool | Published pricing applied to the scenario | Approximate monthly result | Important assumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperping | Essentials includes 50 monitors, DNS on paid | $24 annually | Each record type is its own monitor |
| Oh Dear | Solo is 2 sites; Freelance is 10 sites | €15 to €49 | DNS is included per site, default every 2 hours |
| Site24x7 | Website packs from about $9/mo annually | Low tens of dollars | DNS consumes a monitor in the pack |
| UptimeRobot | Solo $12/mo annually | $12 annually | DNS is a paid monitor type |
| DNS Spy | Personal $9/mo for 10 domains | $9 | Domain-based, not per record type |
Ten DNS checks fit Hyperping Essentials at $24/month annually, with on-call included. The same ten hostnames on DNS Spy Personal are $9/month if you think in domains, not record types. Oh Dear Solo is only 2 sites, so 10 hostnames need Freelance at €49/month.
Hyperping: Best for fast DNS checks with on-call
Hyperping treats DNS as another monitor type next to HTTP, ping, and port. A failed DNS check uses the same on-call, escalation, and status pages as any other outage.
| Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Teams that want DNS on the same rota as HTTP | $24/mo annually | Paid only; one record type per monitor; no zone diff |
Who Hyperping is built for
People who already watch HTTP and want DNS in the same product, at the same interval, with the same phone tree. Usually a public site, an API hostname, and an MX record, run by a small engineering team. A full zone inventory and phishing domains need a different product.
Alma keeps Hyperping next to Datadog because the outside check often pages them first. That story is HTTP, not DNS. The same pipeline is what a DNS monitor uses.
Notable features
- Record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV, CAA, PTR, one type per monitor
- Expected answer: substring match, so an A record can require
192.0.2.1 - Nameserver: optional, for example
8.8.8.8or your authoritative NS - Interval: 30 seconds on Essentials, 20 seconds on Business
- Regions: 18 documented public regions, with cross-region confirm before paging
- On-call and status pages: same as HTTP monitors
- API and Terraform:
protocolset todns
Why choose Hyperping for DNS monitoring?
Interval: Oh Dear's DNS check defaults to every two hours. If a bad A record should wake someone in minutes, Hyperping DNS monitors run at 30 seconds on Essentials.
Rota: DNS Spy Personal emails you. UptimeRobot will not own on-call. A DNS failure on Hyperping can retry, open an incident, escalate, and update a status page.
Billing unit: Ten record checks are ten monitors. DNS Spy Personal is 10 domains. Oh Dear is priced by site. If you only needed A and MX on two hostnames, we are in the same Essentials plan you already bought for HTTP.
What users say
Alma's SRE, Fabrice Gregoire, compared Hyperping to Datadog on speed, not on DNS specifically:
"Hyperping's reputation in our company is that it's more reactive than Datadog. We usually get notifications from Hyperping before Datadog."
How much does Hyperping cost?
Prices are from September 2026, annual billing.
- Free: 20 monitors, HTTP, port, ping, keyword. No DNS on the public Free card
- Essentials: $24/month annually ($29 monthly) for 50 monitors, 30-second interval, DNS, on-call, 1 status page
- Pro: $74/month annually for 100 monitors, phone alerts
- Business: $249/month annually for 1,000 monitors, 20-second interval
Ten DNS monitors on Hyperping cost $24/month on annual Essentials billing if you do not already have 50 other monitors.
Where Hyperping falls short
No zone-wide change history, no query of every authoritative nameserver in one check, no DNSSEC, no WHOIS. Each record type is a separate monitor, so A plus MX plus TXT is three monitors. Oh Dear and DNS Spy are better zone products. Site24x7 is better if you needed DNSSEC and 130 locations.
Is Hyperping right for you?
Choose Hyperping if DNS should page the same rotation as HTTP, at a 30-second interval. Look elsewhere for a two-hour zone diff, DNSSEC, or a 100-domain security grade.
Oh Dear: Best for DNS change history
Oh Dear records the DNS state of each hostname, rechecks every authoritative nameserver it finds, and alerts when a record changes or a lookup starts failing. DNS is included on every plan.
| Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Seeing which nameserver still has the old value | Trial; Solo €15/mo for 2 sites | Default interval is 2 hours |
Who Oh Dear is built for
Agencies and product people who got burned by a silent record change and want history plus a diff. Data is hosted in Belgium. Unlimited users are on every plan.
Casey Sprague, CTO at thera-LINK, is quoted on Oh Dear's DNS page: "Oh Dear detected an issue that our other uptime monitor did not!"
Notable features
- Authoritative comparison: every NS it discovers, named when one differs
- Change history: previous and current values, timestamps, API access
- Record validation: SPF
+all, two SPF records, apex CNAME, malformed CAA, advisory only - Ignore noisy types: skip records that are supposed to move
- Cloudflare note: A and AAAA changes ignored for change detection when Cloudflare NS are detected
- Interval: every two hours by default, can be slowed per site
- Same bill as uptime, SSL, links, and cron
Why choose Oh Dear for DNS monitoring?
Nameserver drift: Hyperping can do this only if you create one monitor per nameserver. Oh Dear does the discovery and comparison in one check.
History: A failed 30-second check tells you it is wrong now. Oh Dear tells you what it was before.
Poll: Two hours will not wake someone during a hijack. Use Hyperping or Site24x7 for the A record, and keep Oh Dear for the zone.
How much does Oh Dear cost?
Prices in EUR, ex VAT, checked 15 September 2026:
- Solo: €15/mo, 2 sites
- Freelance: €49/mo, 10 sites
- Agency: €149/mo, 50 sites
Ten hostnames need Freelance at €49/month. DNS is included.
Where Oh Dear falls short
Two-hour DNS is the limit people miss. No Playwright. No on-call rotation. No DNSSEC as a blocking check. Hyperping covers the fast A record. Site24x7 covers DNSSEC. DNS Spy covers WHOIS and look-alikes.
Is Oh Dear right for you?
Choose Oh Dear if you wanted a dated history of what the authoritative nameservers served. A bad A record that should page someone in under a minute needs a faster check next to it.
Site24x7: Best for DNSSEC inside a suite
Site24x7 runs DNS checks from 130-plus locations, validates DNSSEC, and correlates failures with the rest of the Zoho suite. Website packs start around $9/month billed annually.
| Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| DNSSEC and global resolution in a suite | Free; paid from about $9/mo annually | Crowded console |
Who Site24x7 is built for
IT and SRE people who already live in Site24x7, or who need DNSSEC, regex answer checks, and cloud DNS metrics (Route 53, Azure DNS, Google Cloud DNS) in one buy. Two A records and a status page do not need this much product.
A r/sysadmin thread on Site24x7 alternatives split people toward UptimeRobot and Pingdom for simple uptime, and Datadog for deeper observability. DNS was not the reason they were shopping. It is a module inside the same console.
Notable features
- Locations: 130-plus, TCP or UDP
- Record types: 12, including DS and DNSKEY
- Expected answers: regular-expression validation
- DNSSEC: published as its own check type
- RCA: DNS analysis, ping, traceroute, MTR
- Cloud DNS: Route 53, Azure DNS, Google Cloud DNS metrics
- Alerts: Slack, Teams, SMS, voice, email, PagerDuty
Why choose Site24x7 for DNS monitoring?
DNSSEC: Hyperping does not validate it. Oh Dear treats some structure issues as advisory. Site24x7 sells DNSSEC as part of the DNS monitor.
Locations: If you needed to see resolution from a lot of countries, 130-plus is the published number. Hyperping documents 18.
Suite: Servers, APM, RUM. If you will not use those, you are paying for a console you will hate.
What users say
The console is the complaint I see when people leave.
Site24x7 publishes customer quotes about 24/7 coverage reducing headcount. Those are vendor pages. Independent threads talk about the crowded UI once you leave basic website checks. I would not pick Site24x7 only for two DNS records.
How much does Site24x7 cost?
- Free forever plan for a limited resource count, plus a 30-day trial
- Website monitoring packs from about $9/month billed annually, last checked with the Site24x7 alternatives work in September 2026
Ten DNS monitors fit a small website pack if you are not already using the quota for HTTP.
Where Site24x7 falls short
Packs split basic and advanced monitors, and the console gets crowded once you leave website checks. Hyperping is simpler for a handful of DNS plus HTTP checks. Oh Dear is clearer for record diffs. DNS Spy is clearer for WHOIS.
Is Site24x7 right for you?
Choose Site24x7 if DNSSEC and many locations matter, and you will use more of the suite. A 30-second A record and a status page are cheaper elsewhere.
UptimeRobot: Best for inexpensive DNS checks
UptimeRobot adds DNS monitors on paid plans, next to HTTP, keyword, ping, and port. Solo starts at $12/month billed annually.
| Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Extra DNS checks on a cheap plan | Paid from $12/mo annually | No on-call; no zone audit |
Who UptimeRobot is built for
Solo developers and small teams who already have HTTP monitors there and want a DNS check without a second vendor. DNSSEC and a WHOIS dashboard are not the job.
Notable features
- DNS as a paid monitor type, listed on the pricing page
- Domain expiry on paid plans
- 60-second interval on Solo, 30 seconds on Team
- Status pages included
- No native on-call
Why choose UptimeRobot for DNS monitoring?
Existing HTTP: If HTTP lives in UptimeRobot, adding DNS is cheaper than buying Oh Dear for two records.
Free HTTP vs paid DNS: Fifty HTTP monitors stay free. DNS itself is paid.
What users say
Setup and email alerts are the praise that repeats, for uptime in general.
"I like that UptimeRobot is very intuitive and very easy to set up. It gives me timely email notifications and also the weekly summaries."
I don't have a DNS-specific UptimeRobot review. Treat that quote as the product, not the record type.
How much does UptimeRobot cost?
Prices checked 15 September 2026, annual billing:
- Free: 50 HTTP monitors, 5-minute interval. DNS is listed on paid
- Solo: $12/month annually, 60-second interval, DNS and SSL
- Team: $39/month annually, 30-second interval
Ten DNS checks need a paid plan. Solo at $12/month annually is the usual start.
Where UptimeRobot falls short
No on-call, no authoritative NS comparison, no DNSSEC, no change history like Oh Dear. Hyperping covers the rota. Oh Dear covers the diff. Site24x7 covers DNSSEC.
Is UptimeRobot right for you?
Choose UptimeRobot if you wanted a few cheap DNS checks next to HTTP. A failed DNS query that should page a rotation needs Hyperping or Site24x7.
DNS Spy: Best for dedicated DNS security
DNS Spy watches records, nameserver sync, WHOIS, SSL expiry, and, on Enterprise, phishing look-alikes. Personal is $9/month for 10 domains.
| Best for | Starting price | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Domain portfolios and DNS security | Trial; Personal $9/mo | Personal is email-only; Slack and PagerDuty are Enterprise |
Who DNS Spy is built for
MSPs and security-minded people who think in domains, not HTTP monitors. Personal is 10 domains and email alerts. Enterprise is 100 domains, Slack, Discord, PagerDuty, DNSSEC, dangling CNAMEs, and Phishing Sentinel.
Notable features
- Record change monitoring and nameserver sync
- WHOIS and domain expiry on all plans, alerts at 90, 30, and 7 days
- SSL expiry on all paid plans
- Security Center: 30-plus checks on Personal, more on Enterprise
- Provider sync: Cloudflare, Route 53, GoDaddy, and others, read-only
- Enterprise: DNSSEC, dangling CNAME, SPF/DKIM/DMARC depth, phishing variants
- History: 1 year, BIND/CSV/PowerDNS backups
Why choose DNS Spy for DNS monitoring?
Zone inventory: Hyperping is an uptime product with a DNS check type. DNS Spy inventories the zone.
WHOIS: Oh Dear has a separate domain check. Hyperping does not sell WHOIS.
What users say
DNS Spy publishes this from Keith Gatt, Technical Consultant at GOV Architects, on dnsspy.io:
"With control of your DNS, a malicious actor can with ease re-direct your website complete with valid SSL certs for your domain, or quietly update your MX records to deliver your email to another host and then relay back to you without you knowing."
How much does DNS Spy cost?
Prices checked 15 September 2026:
- 7-day trial, no card, Enterprise features
- Personal: $9/month, 10 domains, email alerts
- Enterprise: $49/month, 100 domains, add-on packs of 50
Ten domains on Personal is $9/month. Slack and PagerDuty need Enterprise.
Where DNS Spy falls short
Personal cannot page Slack. Slack, Discord, and PagerDuty sit on Enterprise. It is not an HTTP uptime tool and not an on-call product. Hyperping still covers the website. Oh Dear still covers two-hour authoritative diffs inside a site-health bill.
Is DNS Spy right for you?
Choose DNS Spy if you needed a domain security inventory and email on Personal is enough. An A record that should page on-call still belongs in Hyperping or Site24x7.
Recommendations by buyer type
| Buyer or situation | Recommended tool | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| DNS should page the same rota as HTTP, in seconds | Hyperping | 30s DNS on Essentials, on-call included |
| I need to know which NS still has the old zone | Oh Dear | Authoritative comparison and history |
| DNSSEC and many countries, already in a suite | Site24x7 | 130-plus locations, DNSSEC |
| A few extra DNS checks next to cheap HTTP | UptimeRobot | Paid Solo from $12/mo annually |
| 10 to 100 domains, WHOIS and record security | DNS Spy | Dedicated product; Personal is email-only |
| Resolver CPU, cache, query volume | Datadog | Telemetry, listed below |
Other credible options
DNS server telemetry, managed DNS providers, and one-off lookup sites sit here.
Uptime tools with a DNS check type
| Tool | Main strength | Main limitation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pingdom | Mature synthetics | DNS depth vs specialists | Full-list alternative |
| Better Stack | Incidents next to uptime | Not a zone-diff or DNSSEC product | Full-list alternative |
| StatusCake | Domain and DNS with uptime | Alerting only | Full-list alternative |
| HetrixTools | Uptime plus DNSBL | Blacklist and uptime first | Full-list alternative |
| Uptime.com | Broad PoPs | Heavier enterprise buy | Enterprise websites |
| Pulsetic | Domain expiry with uptime | Not a record-diff product | Adjacent |
| Checkly | Scripted checks in Git | Not a zone product | Adjacent |
Enterprise path and telemetry
| Tool | Main strength | Main limitation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catchpoint | Global DNS performance | Enterprise procurement | Network reliability |
| ThousandEyes | Internet and DNS path | Cisco enterprise buy | Existing Cisco shops |
| Datadog | DNS next to traces and metrics | Inside-out telemetry | Existing Datadog teams |
| Cloudflare | Provider analytics | Inside your own DNS, not an outside-in pinger | If they already host DNS |
| Route 53 | Health checks in AWS | Provider-tied | AWS-only |
| NS1 | Managed DNS plus traffic | Provider-tied | If they already use NS1 |
Open source and lookups
| Tool | Main strength | Main limitation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uptime Kuma | Self-hosted DNS check type | You operate it | DIY alternative |
| Prometheus Blackbox | Free DNS probes | You operate Prometheus | DIY alternative |
| OneUptime | Open-source synthetics | Broader ops platform than a DNS pinger | Worth watching |
| DNSPerf | Public resolver benchmarks | Not an alerter | Adjacent |
| One-off lookup sites | Free dig in a browser |
Nobody runs them after hours | Excluded |
Constel timed out when I fetched the homepage this run. I left it off the shortlist rather than guess.
How to test DNS monitoring tools
All five shortlisted tools have a free tier or a trial:
- Hyperping: 14-day trial on paid plans. DNS is on Essentials, not on the public Free card
- Oh Dear: 10-day trial, all features, no card
- Site24x7: 30-day trial and a free forever plan
- UptimeRobot: paid trial or Solo for DNS
- DNS Spy: 7-day trial, Enterprise features, no card
A single dig will not tell you how the product pages. Break records on purpose.
- Create an A-record check with an expected IP. Change the record in a staging zone, or point the monitor at a name you control.
- Create an MX or TXT check. Confirm a website pinger stays green while DNS fails.
- If the tool supports it, query two nameservers with the same expected answer. Serve different values. See whether the alert names the NS.
- Wait for the advertised interval. Oh Dear may take two hours. Hyperping should be 30 seconds on Essentials. Those are different products, so do not score them on the same poll.
- Ignore the alert. Confirm who gets the second page. Hyperping and Site24x7 should escalate. DNS Spy Personal may only email.
- Price the exact inventory: record types times hostnames, or domains. Ten record checks are not ten domains.
- If you needed DNSSEC, dangling CNAMEs, or WHOIS, confirm those on the trial. Hyperping will not grow into that.
Give every DNS monitor an owner who can change the zone. A check that pages the wrong team will get muted.
Related reading
- DNS monitoring docs: record types, expected answers, and nameservers in Hyperping
- Create a monitor: intervals, regions, and alerts
- Best API monitoring tools: HTTP contracts that sit next to DNS
- Best Pulsetic alternatives: website uptime when DNS is not the job
- Hyperping pricing: DNS is listed from Essentials
FAQ
What are the best DNS monitoring tools? ▼
The best DNS monitoring tools are Hyperping for fast DNS checks with on-call and status pages, Oh Dear for authoritative nameserver comparison and change history, Site24x7 for DNSSEC and 130-plus locations inside a suite, UptimeRobot for inexpensive DNS checks next to HTTP, and DNS Spy for dedicated DNS security and WHOIS.
What is DNS monitoring? ▼
DNS monitoring queries your records on a schedule and alerts when an answer is missing, wrong, slow, or disagrees across nameservers. A one-off dig is a lookup. Resolver CPU, cache, and query volume are DNS server telemetry, which you watch from inside the service.
What is the difference between DNS monitoring and a DNS lookup? ▼
A lookup tells you what one resolver returned right now. Monitoring repeats the query, stores history, compares expected values, and pages someone when the answer changes or fails.
Can DNS monitoring detect hijacking? ▼
It can show the warning sign: an A, NS, or MX record that no longer matches the value you set. Proving intent and stopping a registrar compromise are separate jobs. Pair an expected answer with an on-call path.
How often should I check DNS? ▼
It depends on the job. Hyperping DNS monitors use the same interval as other monitors, 30 seconds on Essentials. Oh Dear's DNS check defaults to every two hours because it is a change record across authoritative nameservers, not an instant pinger.
Does Hyperping monitor DNS? ▼
Yes, on paid plans. Each DNS monitor checks one record type, optionally against an expected answer and a specific nameserver. Failed DNS checks use the same alerts, on-call, and status pages as HTTP monitors.
