Cloudflare DNS review
Free authoritative DNS with advanced steering and failover through a separate add-on.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Cloudflare DNS provides authoritative DNS hosting and record management, serving responses through Cloudflare’s global network. It is suited to teams that want managed anycast DNS, DNSSEC, analytics, and API automation, with a free plan available for DNS. The service is accessible through web and API interfaces, and supports CNAME flattening as well as multi-signer DNSSEC. Its breadth makes it relevant to organizations that need more than basic record management, though some advanced routing capabilities sit outside DNS itself.
The published plans show Free at $0 per month, Pro at $20 per month billed annually (or $25 per month billed monthly), and Business at $200 per month billed annually (or $250 per month billed monthly). Each lists DNS as included. Contract has custom pricing. Cloudflare DNS is advertised as free; the paid plans combine DNS with other Cloudflare plan features. Buyers should compare the plan terms to their wider Cloudflare requirements rather than assume a paid DNS tier is required for authoritative hosting.
For traffic steering and failover, Cloudflare offers health monitors and geographic or dynamic steering through Load Balancing, a separate add-on that integrates with DNS. That distinction matters for teams comparing the core DNS service with a complete traffic-management setup. Secondary DNS via AXFR and IXFR zone transfers is available to Enterprise customers. Terraform and Ansible integrations, alongside API-based automation, suit infrastructure workflows. Choose Cloudflare DNS for managed authoritative DNS with automation and room to add routing; teams requiring health-based routing should account for the separate Load Balancing add-on, while those needing secondary DNS should review Enterprise eligibility.
Cloudflare DNS pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free plan includes DNS and authoritative record management
- Supports DNSSEC, CNAME flattening, and DNS analytics
- API automation plus Terraform and Ansible integrations
- Where it doesn't
- Health checks and traffic steering require the Load Balancing add-on
- Secondary DNS is available to Enterprise customers
- Pro and Business are billed annually at their listed prices
Cloudflare DNS fact sheet, pricing and score →
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