Overview
Hetzner, the German hosting company, offers free DNS hosting. Since late 2025 it is part of Hetzner Console and the Hetzner Cloud API; the separate DNS Console at dns.hetzner.com stopped accepting new zones in November 2025 and was shut down in May 2026, with remaining zones migrated.
In the new system, zones belong to projects, so you can share a project with other accounts and create API tokens scoped to just those zones. Zones and record sets can be protected against accidental deletion, records take comments and labels, and secondary zones support TSIG. Official integrations include the hcloud CLI, Terraform provider, Ansible collection, external-dns and cert-manager webhooks, with community support in acme.sh, lego, Caddy, Traefik and certbot.
It is free, with a default limit of 25 zones that support can raise. Hetzner states that DNSSEC is not supported, and there are no routing policies or health checks.
Hetzner Console is free to use with an existing Robot account, and new customers can create a free account. Because API tokens changed during the migration, older ACME and DynDNS scripts had to switch to the Cloud API endpoints.
Pricing and plans
Free tier
Completely free: up to 25 zones by default (more on request), primary and secondary zones, Cloud API access; no DNSSEC signing.
At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| DNS in Hetzner Console | Free | 25 zones by default, raise by support ticket; API, CLI, Terraform |
What it does
- Cloud API and CLI
- Manage zones through api.hetzner.cloud and the hcloud CLI.
- Project-scoped tokens
- Place zones in separate projects to restrict API tokens to specific zones.
- Protection
- Optional protection against deleting zones or changing record sets.
- Record types
- A, AAAA, CAA, CNAME, DS, HTTPS, MX, NS, PTR, SRV, SVCB, TLSA, TXT and more.
- Secondary zones
- Secondary zones with TSIG-signed zone transfers.
- Integrations
- Official Terraform, Ansible, external-dns and cert-manager support.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Free, from an established EU hosting company.
- Good automation: Cloud API, CLI, Terraform, Kubernetes integrations.
- Scoped API tokens per project.
- Change protection for zones and records.
Limitations
- No DNSSEC support, according to Hetzner's FAQ.
- Default limit of 25 zones.
- No geo routing, failover or health checks.
- Integrations built for the old DNS API had to be migrated to the new Cloud API.
Who it suits
Good for
- Projects hosted on Hetzner servers
- Kubernetes clusters using external-dns or cert-manager
- Developers wanting free DNS with Terraform
Look elsewhere if
- Domains that must be DNSSEC-signed
- Apps needing traffic steering or failover
Alternatives to Hetzner DNS
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| jsDelivr Free public CDN for open source | — | Free tier | |
| deSEC Free DNSSEC-signed DNS hosting | — | Free tier | |
| DNSimple DNS hosting and domain management | $0.5/mo | ||
| Namecheap Domain registrar | $10.98/yr | ||
| Porkbun Domain registrar | $11.08/yr | ||
| easyDNS Managed anycast DNS and registrar | $20/yr |
Questions
Is Hetzner DNS free?
Yes. Hetzner states DNS management in Hetzner Console is completely free.
Does Hetzner DNS support DNSSEC?
No. Hetzner's FAQ says Hetzner Console does not currently support DNSSEC.
What happened to dns.hetzner.com?
The old DNS Console and API were shut down in May 2026; DNS now lives in Hetzner Console and the Cloud API.
How many zones can I host on Hetzner DNS?
Up to 25 by default; support can raise the limit on request.
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