A Dynamic DNS (also known as DDNS or DynDNS) is a service for mapping Internet domain names to a computer with dynamic IP addresses. Most computers connect to a router via DHCP, which means the router randomly assigns an IP address for your computer.
This also means that your computer’s IP address is ever-changing, and this makes it difficult to connect with the outside world. Dynamic DNS solves this issue by constantly updating its DNS service with your latest IP address.
If you are looking to run a home network, here, in no particular order, are some of the best free Dynamic DNS providers.
Also read:Changing Your DNS Server: Why You Should and How to Do It
1. Namecheap
Namecheap provides a free Dynamic DNS app with its domains, which just so happens to be one of the best DNS services out there. It’s fast and responsive, reporting your changes to Google DNS nicely and quickly.
There are three different tiers of DNS provider within NameCheap, with a lightweight free one available to anyone who even just creates a free account on Namecheap. Create a domain or transfer, and you get bumped up to the “Basic” DNS which guarantees 100 percent uptime.
It’s a service that’s quietly been one of the simpler, faster options around and is particularly beneficial for those registering and hosting their own domains.
Also read:How to View Network Adapter Details in Windows
2. YDNS
Based out of Germany, YDNS is a free Dynamic DNS provider that only asks for you to sign up with your email address and password before you start using it. Unless you’re using a custom domain name, you’re restricted to using the “ydns.eu” domain, but for many people, that will suffice.
There’s no limit to the amount of custom domains or hosts you can have on ydns, and there’s support for the DNSSEC security extension. It works with the majority of Dynamic DNS implementations.
More tech-savvy users can also download the bash script for YDNS, using that to update the dynamic hosts.
3. FreeDNS
With its extremely minimal presentation, FreeDNS offers one of the simplest ways to quickly set yourself up with a Dynamic DNS. (It also offers static DNS services.)
There are tens of thousands of domains to choose from, as well as the option to use your own custom domain names. At this point, it’s one of the most popular Dynamic DNS providers out there, dealing with over 7 billion requests a month.
The process for setting up an account is quite straightforward and will not take more than five minutes. After setting up an account, DNS pointing is instantaneous. You can also choose from more than 90,000 domains. For all these domains, they offer URL redirection.
Also read:How to Set Up Remote Access to a Computer with a Dynamic IP Address
4. Securepoint DynDNS
This is a Germany-based DDNS provider that is completely free. One of the first things that will catch your attention on the website is an offer of a total of five hosts and 100 domains. Aside from this, it is one provider that fits seamlessly into the firewall and into other manufacturer’s devices. Even though this is a “secure point” provider, you are allowed to use the services without a “secure point” device.
Registering with Securepoint DynDNS is easy and quick. It is also largely anonymous. You just need a username, an email address and of course a password. After registration, you will be able to get started once you receive the confirmation email.
The Securepoint DynDNS offers support for the IPv6 protocol and the update token, which is an additional password for added security.
5. Dynu
Unlike Securepoint DynDNS, Dynu is not entirely free. It offers a free version and a paid version, with the paid version having some additional features. However, the free version will provide reliable DNS uptime through a number of servers located across the world. This is important because it implies that even top-level domains will work, regardless of the countries they belong to.
It’s free to download its DDNS client, which will run in the background and automatically updates the DNS record when your IP address changes. With the free version, all the services are available for just one subdomain. These services include email service, domain registration, and SSL certificates. With the paid version, you have all the services for an unlimited amount of subdomains.
6. DuckDNS
The DuckDNS dynamic DNS service provider is built using Amazon’s infrastructure. The website is plain, and the entire system is run by just two software engineers.
This system, however, has a decent amount of written tutorials to help set up DuckDNS on a number of platforms. These platforms include, but are not limited to, macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Your account is allowed to have four subdomains on duckdns.org. You will only get more if you make donations to the team.
7. No-IP
This US-based DDNS provider offers a free package as well as two paid packages. The free version limits you to three hostnames, a limited number of domains, and a need for account confirmation every 30 days. If accounts are not confirmed, they are immediately deleted.
In the freeware version you also will have floods of adverts. None of these downsides apply to the paid version, however.
Also read:How to Troubleshoot a Router
In addition to Dynamic DNS, you should also use a DNS service that can protect your online privacy, such as NextDNS, or enable DNS over HTTPS in browsers.
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