Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to File distribution over DNS: (ab)using DNS as a CDN

File Distribution over DNS is a technical project that leverages DNS infrastructure to distribute files, repurposing the Domain Name System as a content delivery network. Created for developers and technical… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. File distribution over DNS: (ab)using DNS as a CDN launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1UD
   Use DNS TXT to share information▲143

   dig +short TXT youpay.govorenefekt.com @1.1.1.1 | fold -s You can base64 encode an image, split to TXT records and send over Internet. Useful in certain circumstances. Like when one of the communicating parties is under severe censorship.

   2023 · its alternatives →

2. 2
   DN$ – an innovative, ad-supported DNS resolver▲294

   Tired of companies snooping through your DNS traffic? Don't you wish you could get advertisements with your DNS records? Today we're introducing the innovative, privacy-focused, ad-supported DNS resolver - DN$! Traditional DNS resolvers provided by your internet service provider, cloudflare, or google could be tracking your internet activity and selling it to third-party data vendors. We at DN$ want to fix that and cut out these nefarious actors (until we've amassed a critical number of users to exploit). In order to support such a radically new business model, our service needs to serve…

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   nextdns.io – A Combination of Cloudflare DNS and Pi-Hole▲372

   NextDNS protects you from all kinds of security threats, blocks ads and trackers on websites and in apps and provides a safe and supervised Internet for kids — on all devices and on all networks.

   2019 · nextdns.io · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Golang DNS server, including DNSSEC and DNS-over-TLS▲283

   Recursive and authoritative DNS server in go, including DNSSEC and DNS-over-TLS - tenta-browser/tenta-dns

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Wordle over DNS▲170

   2022 · dgl.cx · its alternatives →

6. 64D
   4B+ DNS Records Dataset▲90

   Hi HN, I've been working on building a pipeline to create a DNS records database lately. The goal is to enable research as well as competitive landscape analysis on the internet. The dataset for now spans around 4 billion records and covers all the common DNS record types: A AAAA ANAME CAA CNAME HINFO HTTPS MX NAPTR NS PTR SOA SRV SSHFP SVCB TLSA TXT Each line in the CSV file represents a single DNS record in the following format: www.example.com,A,93.184.215.14 Let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

   2024 · merklemap.com · its alternatives →

7. 7DB
   DNS-based alternative to the web for structured data▲59

   2020 · num.uk · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Simple File Hosting on a CDN▲75

   Connect your existing cloud files to Fastio, then give Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, and other AI agents secure file intelligence for search, analysis, and coordinated work.

   2019 · fast.io · its alternatives →

9. 9GB
   GitHub-based DNS Hosting▲37

   2014 · dns-api.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    DNS Flixer▲9

    File Server Over DNS

    2024 · its alternatives →

11. 11KE
    KittenDNS – Easy to setup, rule engine, LetsEncrypt compatible▲107

    My goal was to create a DNS server as simple as the LDAP server I've been contributing to (glauth) and here it is: https://github.com/fusion/kittendns A few things to know about it: - It is easy to configure using a Toml file - I am using it to bail my coredns/etcd instances when under attack - (yes, it also works as a service location server) - It comes with a simple, plain English, rule engine that doesn't do much at this point - It can be used with LetsEncrypt. I use it to retrieve certificates for my home servers. - RFC: all the nice ones :) Anyway, feedback is…

    2022 · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Local development with .local domains and HTTPSfree tier, from $8/mo▲84

    Hi HN! I'm Jarek, and I've built this tool that allows publishing .local domains on the local network using mDNS. It also has a reverse proxy that handles HTTPS termination and port forwarding. I'm working on adding more features, like an index page with all available domains or allowing proxy redirects, so you could redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. Let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

    2023 · localcan.com · its alternatives →

13. 13DD
    Dnsyo – DNS propagation checker▲56

    2013 · samarudge.github.io · its alternatives →

14. 14
    HTTPS-DNS - Rust-based minimal DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) client▲14

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    I built a DNS resolver from scratch in Rust – no DNS libraries▲115

    I built a DNS resolver that lets me use https://frontend.numa instead of localhost:5173 — auto-generated TLS certs, WebSocket passthrough, path routing. No mkcert, no nginx, no /etc/hosts.

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    "q", a DNS query tool with support for UDP, TCP, DoT, DoH, DoQ and ODoH▲140

    A tiny command line DNS client with support for UDP, TCP, DoT, DoH, DoQ and ODoH. - natesales/q

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

17. 17RD
    Recursive DNS Server Fingerprint▲120

    2017 · recdnsfp.github.io · its alternatives →

18. 18
    DHCP as a file system – an experiment with Go and FUSE▲34

    DHCP as a FUSE file system. Contribute to lmorg/dhcpdfs development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    I built a guided Build your own DNS Server challenge▲57

    Hey everyone. It's Sherub here, author of the Build your own DNS Server challenge on CodeCrafters. Currently it’s available in Rust, Go, and Python and is free while in beta. https://codecrafters.io/dns-server I've kept the challenge accessible but still challenging for an intermediate developer. This challenge, like others from CodeCrafters, is self-paced. You can use any tools you prefer (terminal, editor, etc.) to build the project. At the end of the challenge, you will have created a DNS forwarding server. The server can create and read DNS packets and respond to DNS…

    2023 · app.codecrafters.io · its alternatives →

20. 20
    MassDNS – A high-performance DNS stub resolver in C▲35

    A high-performance DNS stub resolver for bulk lookups and reconnaissance (subdomain enumeration) - blechschmidt/massdns

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    A DNS over HTTPS proxy in 80 lines of Golang▲20

    DNS over HTTPS proxy written in golang. Contribute to satran/dohproxy development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22MD
    Make domain verification as easy as verifying an email or phone number▲86

    Hi HN, This is a project [1] I've been working on for a little while and I'm interested in your feedback and point of view. Many of us would have verified a domain name by pasting a string into a DNS TXT record. Some providers ask us to store this DNS TXT record at a domain using a DNS label like "_provider" e.g. _provider.yourdomain.com, and some providers ask that you do it at the zone apex (God help us [2]). The Domain Verification protocol stores a DNS TXT record at a DNS name derived from a hashed "verifiable identifier" (think email, telephone, DID), enabling anyone that can prove…

    2023 · domainverification.org · its alternatives →

23. 23PD
    Privacy DNS – free, encrypted, no-logs, DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSProxy▲14

    2024 · privacy-dns.pw · its alternatives →

24. 24
    A site to look up DNS records▲82

    DNS record lookups just as you like 'em

    2017 · dnsrecords.io · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →