Best DNS Servers for Gaming & Everyday Use [2020]

Last updated on June 17th, 2020

For gaming — especially, FPS shooters, require a decent ping to play with. And, that’s when it becomes vital to pick one of the best DNS servers for gaming. Of course, changing the DNS server will not improve your Internet connection drastically — but only the IP lookup time, DNS record updates, and the ping may improve.

Note: Technically, the ping for a game shouldn’t have any effect when you change the DNS. But, still, considering the first response when you load into the game and other benefits of a DNS– you should opt to use a 3rd party DNS server.

Don’t understand a word of it? Fret not, read on…

First, you need to know what a DNS server is — and how does it affect your Internet browsing & Gaming. Next, you need to choose one of the best DNS servers available.

So, in this article, I’ll explain what a DNS server is, what are the advantages of using a DNS server, and what DNS server should you use for gaming and everyday usage.

What is a DNS Server and How DNS works?

We look for web pages by typing the domain name – for example – techlegends.in, google.com, and so on.

But, the web browser utilizes the DNS record (just like a phone book record) and translates the domain name to its respective IP address. An IP address is human readable but tough to remember, with a bunch of numbers or alphabets like – 98.139.180.149 or 2002:4559:1fe2::4559:1fe2.

For obvious reasons, you will prefer typing in the website name instead of its IP address. So, to handle these requests and translate the domain name to their correct IP address, DNS servers are needed.

I think, now you understand what a DNS server is and what it does.

If you’re still curious to know more, I recommend checking out Linus’ video:

Why should you use a DNS server?

By default, your ISP utilizes a DNS server – which is usually slow and insecure. So, if you start using a Public DNS server, you should observe improvements in website loading time and better ping for your games when you first load into the game server.

In addition to the response time, you will also keep your Internet activity secure (for instance, if you use Cloudflare’s DNS service).

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No matter whether you want — a faster Internet, improved ping in-game, or simply to enhance privacy — you should definitely use one of the best DNS servers.

If you know how to change your DNS server manually, you can jump into the list of best DNS servers for gaming. If you have no clue how to do it, let us take a look at it…

How do you change DNS?

It is very easy to change the DNS. However, depending on what operating system you have installed on your machine, the steps will differ.

No matter whether you have Windows, Mac, or Android, you can refer Google’s Developer Docs to find detailed instructions on how to change the DNS.

For iOS devices, you will not be able to change the DNS server while utilizing Cellular data. But, if you happen to use a WiFi, then you can just tap on the “i” icon, next to the network name you are connected to and then scroll down to find “Configure DNS” option.

The Best DNS Servers

Here, I utilized ping-test.net to get a rough estimate of how the DNS performs when I choose a server that’s not nearby (Hong Kong — in this case).

Note: The stats may differ for your region and Internet connection.

What DNS Server Should You Use?

The top three DNS server providers are:

1. OpenDNS
2. Google Public DNS
3. Cloudflare

1. OpenDNS

DNS Address:

208.67.222.22

208.67.220.220

In my personal usage, I was impressed by the stability and the minimum ping offered by OpenDNS.

Here’s the test result (for Hong Kong server, from India):

Yes, you can observe ping spikes, but that’s very normal.

2. Google Public DNS

DNS Address:

—-IPv4—-

8.8.8.8

8.8.4.4

—-IPv6—-

2001:4860:4860::8888

2001:4860:4860::8844

The minimum ping offered here is close to what you get on OpenDNS – however, you will observe more ping spikes here:

3. Cloudflare

DNS Address:

–—IPv4—-

1.1.1.1

1.0.0.1

—-IPv6—-

2606:4700:4700::1111

2606:4700:4700::1001

This would be my favorite DNS server to ensure privacy and faster DNS record updates.

Here’s the ping test result for Cloudflare’s DNS server:

List Of Best Public DNS Servers

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now, but I’m still going say it – the ping performance will always differ according to your location and ISP.

You can go ahead and experiment the ping difference with different DNS servers available, here’s a list of the most popular public DNS servers that you can use to get a faster Internet:

DNS Provider	IPv4	IPv6
Cloudflare	1.1.1.11.0.0.1	2606:4700:4700::11112606:4700:4700::1001
Alternate DNS	198.101.242.7223.253.163.53
Quad9	9.9.9.9149.112.112.112	2620:fe::fe2620:fe::9
Dyn	216.146.35.35216.146.36.36
Verisign	64.6.64.664.6.65.6
Comodo	8.26.56.88.20.247.20

Wrapping Up

Now that you know about the best DNS servers available which might potentially help improve your gaming experience– what did you pick for your personal usage?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.