# deSEC 20 Hacker News commenters recommended deSEC and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Free DNS hosting with DNSSEC, scoped API tokens for certificate validation, and broad record type support. Critics mention slow propagation, a rough web UI and API, and email-based support. ## Why people recommend it - Free DNSSEC and broad record types (4 comments): "Try desec.io, I use them and am very happy. Free DNSSEC, which some other DNS hosters want to charge you for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47675464)) "i can vouch for desec.io for having the option to have TXT, NS, CNAME, etc dns entries on their free tier" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48280670)) "the only affordable DNS supplier in the EU that complies with state of the art secure DNSSEC" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49567605)) - Scoped API tokens for DNS validation (3 comments): "allows you to create (through the api) tightly-scoped tokens that can only update the "_acme-challenge.subdomain.example.com" domain" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46125029)) "I switched to deSEC because they allow you to create tokens for DNS-01 validation which are tightly scoped to a single subdomain." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49570978)) "If something gets the credentials for desec.io, they can only use them to do stuff with the single txt record." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47547197)) - Reliable long-term use without issues (3 comments): "I've used Desec for several years now, and I'm very happy with them. Zero problems, would recommend." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48036202)) "I have been using deSEC for a couple of years without any issues." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49569218)) "Happy deSec user, use them for all my domains." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49569021)) - Fast, friendly responses and support (2 comments): "I like desec.io for there api and also fast response and friendly Team" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50230457)) "They replied somewhat quickly (for humans)." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48035462)) ## What people warn about - Support by email, not self-serve (3 comments): "thought that it was too much work to send an email and wait for replies" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48033651)) "couldn’t this be all self-serve? It’s almost as if they don’t want people to use them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568297)) "they only allowed a single subdomain for DDNS, with docs saying to contact support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568102)) - Slow DNS propagation (2 comments): "the web UI and API were both quite rough, and propagation tended to be quite slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568386)) "deSEC is free and okay, but sometimes quite slow to propagate and its UI+API are unwieldy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47676896)) - Rough web UI and API (2 comments): "the web UI and API were both quite rough, and propagation tended to be quite slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49568386)) "deSEC is free and okay, but sometimes quite slow to propagate and its UI+API are unwieldy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47676896)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Bunny DNS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bunny-dns.md): 38 recommend - [Amazon Route 53](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon-route-53.md): 16 recommend - [Amazon Route 53](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aws-route53.md): 6 recommend - [Hurricane Electric DNS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hurricane-electric-dns.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://desec.io/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "deSEC", https://hackerapproved.com/p/desec/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).