PowerDNS-Admin vs Simple DNS Plus

PAPowerDNS-Admin8.9Visit Simple DNS Plus8.5Visit

Higher score PA PowerDNS-Admin #2 in DNS Management Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit PowerDNS-Admin

vs

Simple DNS Plus #6 in DNS Management Software 8.5/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 3 of 5 features Try Simple DNS Plus

• PowerDNS-Admin fits best

  Free PowerDNS administration with SSO

• Simple DNS Plus fits best

  Windows teams managing multiple DNS zones

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Side by side

Feature	PAPowerDNS-Admin 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Simple DNS Plus 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.5
Ranking	#2 in DNS Management Software	#6 in DNS Management Software
Best for	Free PowerDNS administration with SSO	Windows teams managing multiple DNS zones
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$69/unit one-time
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	14 days
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted, Desktop
Platforms	Web	Windows
Support	Community, Docs	Email, Docs, Community
Integrations	9 integrations	6 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features PowerDNS-Admin 4/5 · Simple DNS Plus 3/5
DNSSEC management	✓	✓
DNS management API	✓	✓
Role-based access	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Audit logs	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Traffic steering	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Authoritative zones	Not checked yet	5 zones
Records per zone	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Forward and reverse zone management with templates RBAC, zone-specific access control, and activity logging SAML, LDAP, OAuth, TOTP, DNSSEC, and API support	Authoritative and recursive DNS with caching in one server DNSSEC, encrypted DNS, GeoDNS, logging and version control REST/JSON API, remote management and Windows Server Core support
Cons	Focused on PowerDNS Authoritative Server Requires self-hosted deployment Administration depends on configuring the underlying PowerDNS environment	Windows-only platform coverage No free plan; evaluation is limited to 14 days Perpetual licenses include one year of free upgrade protection
Our verdict	PowerDNS-Admin is a self-hosted web interface for managing PowerDNS Authoritative Server. It is intended for teams that need browser-based administration of forward and reverse DNS zones, with controls for shared access and operational… Read the review →	Simple DNS Plus is a self-hosted authoritative and recursive DNS server for Windows. It is designed for administrators who need to host domains, manage zones and records, run primary or secondary DNS servers, or resolve and cache external… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• PowerDNS-Admin — where it wins

  • Forward and reverse zone management with templates
  • RBAC, zone-specific access control, and activity logging
  • SAML, LDAP, OAuth, TOTP, DNSSEC, and API support

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on PowerDNS Authoritative Server
  • Requires self-hosted deployment
  • Administration depends on configuring the underlying PowerDNS environment

• Simple DNS Plus — where it wins

  • Authoritative and recursive DNS with caching in one server
  • DNSSEC, encrypted DNS, GeoDNS, logging and version control
  • REST/JSON API, remote management and Windows Server Core support

  Where it doesn't

  • Windows-only platform coverage
  • No free plan; evaluation is limited to 14 days
  • Perpetual licenses include one year of free upgrade protection

• PAPowerDNS-Admin8.9/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source PowerDNS console with access controls, DNSSEC, logs, and SSO.

  Visit PowerDNS-AdminFull verdict →
• Simple DNS Plus8.5/10 · 14-day trial

  A low-cost Windows DNS server with broad administration and security features.

  Try Simple DNS PlusFull verdict →