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Knot DNS

Ranked 6 of 6 DNS servers by recommenders

A free DNS server that people find easy to configure, with DNSSEC signing that can be turned on with a switch.

A free DNS server that people find easy to configure, with DNSSEC signing that can be turned on with a switch.

6 people gave an opinion

recommend it
6
criticize it
0
approval share
100%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 2 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: recommended
  6. April 2026: not recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: not recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Easy to configure

    “Knot does make it quite easy. Also, their devs are very responsive to support questions on their mailing list.”

    Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

    “you can just add ~8 lines to your config, copy the records to your registrar, and then you're done”

    Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”
  • Feature-rich, with DNSSEC support

    “it is quite feature-rich, including DNSSEC, RFC 2136 support, an easy master-slave setup”

    Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

    “all of them allow for basically hands-free DNSSEC; just flip a switch and you'll have it”

    Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

Other DNS servers people recommend

The four most recommended other DNS servers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

Knot DNS compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
dnsmasq321174%10—Approved
BIND 917965%8——
PowerDNS150100%10—Approved
djbdns8280%6——
Knot DNSThis page60100%2——
See all 6 DNS servers, ranked

What people said

All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“all of them allow for basically hands-free DNSSEC; just flip a switch and you'll have it”

RecommendsComment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

“it is quite feature-rich, including DNSSEC, RFC 2136 support, an easy master-slave setup”

RecommendsComment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

“Knot does make it quite easy. Also, their devs are very responsive to support questions on their mailing list.”

RecommendsComment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

“you can just add ~8 lines to your config, copy the records to your registrar, and then you're done”

RecommendsComment from 25 Mar 2026 in “You Can Run a DNS Server”

“the most compelling I found was a fastmail blog about why they switched to knot”

MixedComment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Self-hosting DNS for no fun, but a little profit”

“Given the bind security and functional track record over the last 30 years”

RecommendsComment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Self-hosting DNS for no fun, but a little profit”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.