DNSPod
DNSPod is a Chinese DNS hosting provider founded in 2006 and operating as a brand under Tencent Cloud, offering intelligent Anycast-based DNS resolution across 48 global cluster nodes on a freemium model serving individual developers, SMEs, and large enterprises with over 20 million cumulative domains managed.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersYantai, China
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What DNSPod does
DNSPod is a Chinese DNS hosting service provider founded in 2006 in Yantai and currently operating as a brand under Tencent Cloud, with headquarters in Shenzhen. It provides intelligent DNS resolution services to individual developers, small and medium enterprises, and large organizations, with a cumulative footprint of more than 20 million domains served and 8 million registered customers. The platform is built on a globally distributed Anycast DNS resolution network spanning 48 cluster nodes, with claimed single-machine resolution performance of 11 million queries per second, 460 intelligent resolution lines covering countries, continents, search engines, carriers, and China-specific regional routing, and 5T+ DDoS protection capacity delivered through Tencent Cloud's Zeus Shield defense system.
DNSPod firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DNSPod
- Legal name
- DNSPod, Inc.
- Website
- https://dnspod.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- DNSPod is a Chinese DNS hosting provider founded in 2006 and operating as a brand under Tencent Cloud, offering intelligent Anycast-based DNS resolution across 48 global cluster nodes on a freemium model serving individual developers, SMEs, and large enterprises with over 20 million cumulative domains managed.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DNSPod industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DNS Resolution Services
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DNS, Anycast & Traffic Steering (GSLB, Geo-routing) (HDABAGAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- IP Address Management (IPAM) & DNS/DHCP Management (DDI) (HDAFAGAF), DNS Security & Protective DNS (HDADABAF), Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI)
Keywords
Where DNSPod is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Yantai
- HQ country
- China
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
DNSPod business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- DNS Resolution Services - Paid Tiers: DNSPod generates revenue through tiered subscription plans for DNS resolution services. The free tier provides basic DNS features permanently, while paid tiers (Professional, Enterprise, Flagship) offer progressively higher SLAs, more advanced features like lower TTL values, more URL forwarding rules, and broader intelligent line support.
- Lighthouse Light Application Server: Revenue generated from selling lightweight cloud servers (Lighthouse) with various configurations including vCPU, memory, SSD storage, and bandwidth. Plans range from $4.2/month for basic Linux to $10.08/year for premium tiers with DDoS protection and snapshots.
- SSL Certificates: Cross-selling SSL certificates through Tencent Cloud integration, providing HTTPS solutions with data encryption and server identity verification.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier - permanent free DNS service for basic needs |
| Subscription | Monthly | Professional tier - for individual users with 99.90% SLA |
| Subscription | Monthly | Enterprise tier - for small and medium enterprises with 99.99% SLA |
| Subscription | Monthly | Flagship tier - for large enterprises with 100% SLA |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
DNSPod product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DNSPod is a brand under Tencent Cloud that provides intelligent DNS resolution services for domains. Its core offering is a globally distributed DNS resolution network with 48 cluster nodes supporting Anycast deployment, single-machine resolution performance up to 11 million queries per second, 5T+ DDoS protection, and intelligent routing across 460 resolution lines. The company sells tiered DNS subscription plans (Free, Professional, Enterprise, Flagship) and complements DNS with related services including Lighthouse lightweight cloud servers, SSL certificates, domain registration, and utility tools (WHOIS query, domain diagnostics).
Product overview
DNSPod is a brand under Tencent Cloud that provides a comprehensive domain and DNS service portfolio centered around intelligent DNS resolution. The core offering consists of DNS Resolution service with four pricing tiers (Free, Professional, Enterprise, and Flagship), supplemented by Lighthouse lightweight application servers for global deployment, SSL certificates for HTTPS solutions, and utility tools including WHOIS query and domain diagnostics. DNSPod operates a global infrastructure of 48 cluster nodes supporting Anycast deployment and claims single-machine resolution performance of 11 million queries per second with 5T+ DDoS protection capability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DNS Resolution (DNS 解析) Core intelligent DNS resolution service providing stable, secure, and fast domain resolution with massive processing capacity, flexible scalability, and security capabilities. Supports intelligent resolution by country, continent, search engine, carrier, and Chinese geographic regions. Targets individual developers, SMEs, and large enterprises via tiered subscription plans.
- Lighthouse (轻量应用服务器)
Quantifiable outcome
- 48 global cluster nodes providing worldwide DNS resolution
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use DNSPod
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
DNSPod technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
DNSPod partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Tencent CloudcoreDNSPod operates as a brand under Tencent Cloud, leveraging Tencent Cloud's infrastructure including the Zeus Shield (宙斯盾) protection system for DDoS defense. The partnership provides DNSPod access to Tencent Cloud's global infrastructure, security capabilities, and customer base.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DNSPod competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Microsoft Azure DNS: Azure DNS provides authoritative DNS hosting integrated with the Azure cloud platform, supporting Anycast and DNSSEC. It is a comparable hyperscaler peer competing for enterprise DNS workloads within the Azure ecosystem.
- Verisign Managed DNS: Verisign Managed DNS offers Anycast authoritative DNS with DNSSEC, geo-IP, and high SLA, leveraging Verisign's position as a root registry. It competes with DNSPod for large enterprises that prioritize registry-grade reliability and global Anycast scale.
- Akamai Edge DNS: Akamai Edge DNS is the authoritative DNS layer of the Akamai CDN/ed delivery platform, offering Anycast, DNSSEC, and integrated DDoS protection. It competes with DNSPod on scale, reliability, and global traffic steering for enterprise CDN customers.
- Amazon Route 53: AWS Route 53 is the authoritative DNS service tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem, offering health checks, traffic flow, and DNSSEC. As a hyperscaler offering, it competes on price, scale, and bundling rather than on the China-routing depth DNSPod emphasizes.
- Google Cloud DNS: Google Cloud DNS is the authoritative DNS service within Google Cloud, offering 100% SLA, Anycast, and DNSSEC. As a hyperscaler offering, it competes with DNSPod on reliability, integration, and pricing for GCP-native workloads.
Direct peers
- Constellix (DNS Made Easy): Constellix and its sister brand DNS Made Easy provide managed authoritative DNS with traffic steering, load balancing, and ITO (Intelligent Traffic Orchestration). They are direct technical peers to DNSPod on intelligent resolution, Anycast, and global load balancing.
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare operates one of the world's largest Anycast DNS networks with 1.1.1.1, offering free and paid authoritative DNS with built-in DDoS protection. It is the most direct global competitor to DNSPod in managed DNS, and competes on similar technical axes (Anycast, DDoS mitigation, API-first).
- NS1: NS1 (formerly NS1 Managed DNS) provides intelligent DNS with traffic steering, Filter Chain for granular routing decisions, and DDoS protection. It is a direct technical peer to DNSPod on intelligent resolution and Anycast, focused on enterprise and DevOps customers.
- Alibaba Cloud DNS (Alidns): Alidns is Alibaba Cloud's authoritative DNS service providing intelligent resolution, Anycast, and anti-DDoS within the Alibaba Cloud ecosystem. It is the closest domestic rival to DNSPod in the China market and the most natural substitute for Chinese enterprises.
Emerging players
- Hurricane Electric DNS: Hurricane Electric operates a free Anycast authoritative DNS service with global nodes and DNSSEC support. It is an emerging/alt peer that competes primarily on the free-tier hobbyist segment, similar to DNSPod's free tier positioning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DNSPod social profiles
Digital presenceDNSPod financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DNSPod leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
DNSPod funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DNSPod M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DNSPod
What does DNSPod do?
DNSPod is a brand under Tencent Cloud that provides intelligent DNS resolution services for domains. Its core offering is a globally distributed DNS resolution network with 48 cluster nodes supporting Anycast deployment, single-machine resolution performance up to 11 million queries per second, 5T+ DDoS protection, and intelligent routing across 460 resolution lines. The company sells tiered DNS subscription plans (Free, Professional, Enterprise, Flagship) and complements DNS with related services including Lighthouse lightweight cloud servers, SSL certificates, domain registration, and utility tools (WHOIS query, domain diagnostics).
Is DNSPod a public or private company?
DNSPod is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was DNSPod founded?
DNSPod was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is DNSPod based?
DNSPod is headquartered in Yantai, China, in the Asia region.
How does DNSPod make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. DNS Resolution Services - Paid Tiers are the primary driver. The others are lighthouse Light Application Server and SSL Certificates.
Who are DNSPod's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Microsoft Azure DNS, Verisign Managed DNS, Akamai Edge DNS, Amazon Route 53 and Google Cloud DNS. Direct peers are Constellix (DNS Made Easy), Cloudflare, NS1 and Alibaba Cloud DNS (Alidns). Hurricane Electric DNS is listed as an emerging player.
Does DNSPod have an API?
Yes. DNSPod provides a rich API that can be deeply integrated with your own business for more flexible DNS management. API access is supported across all plans including Free (2 API entries), Professional (full API), Enterprise (full API), and Flagship (full API). Features include DNSSEC support, CNAME acceleration, DDNS, batch management operations, and per-subdomain resolution statistics (available on Professional and above). Developer documentation is at support.dnspod.com/api.
What industry is DNSPod in?
DNSPod's product category is DNS Resolution Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAGAE, DNS, Anycast & Traffic Steering (GSLB, Geo-routing), with a secondary code of HDAFAGAF, IP Address Management (IPAM) & DNS/DHCP Management (DDI). Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7372.