DNS propagation checker: is your domain safe to advertise?
For affiliates who just bought or moved their domain: see, in seconds, whether the whole internet already sees the new address and avoid account suspensions.
How the check works
1
We ask the world
We query 16 public DNS servers across several countries, the same ones your presell visitors use.
2
We compare the answers
Each server keeps the old answer for a while. We show who has updated and who hasn't yet.
3
You get it at a glance
One sentence tells you whether your domain is ready, almost there, or not yet. Each server's details sit right below, if you want to check.
Stop configuring DNS. Use AdsX.
With AdsX, your domain comes already pointed, with SSL, in one click.
DNS is the list that turns your domain name (yourdomain.com) into the address of the server hosting your page. When you change that address, the change applies instantly where you made it. The rest of the internet takes a while to find out.
That's because internet providers and public DNS servers (Google, Cloudflare and thousands of others) keep the old answer for a while, so they don't have to ask again on every visit. DNS propagation is that gap: the time until each of those servers clears its cache and fetches the new answer.
That's why, during propagation, one person already sees the new site while someone else, in another city or on another provider, still sees the old one or an error page.
How long does DNS propagation take?
It depends on what you changed. Changing the address (A record) usually takes a few minutes to a few hours. Changing name servers (NS) can take up to 48 hours, because that information is held by the registry of the domain's extension (.com, .net), which caches it longer.
The number that sets each record's time is called TTL, covered in the table below and in the TTL section.
Propagation time by type of change
Typical timings. Each record's real time is the TTL that was set before the change.
What you changed
When it happens
Typical time
A record
Switched hosting in the same DNS dashboard
Minutes to a few hours
CNAME record (www)
Pointed www to another host
Minutes to a few hours
Name servers (NS)
Moved the domain to another manager, like Cloudflare
Up to 48 hours
Newly registered domain
Just bought the domain
Minutes; longer if it was looked up before it existed
How to check DNS propagation
The fastest way is the tool at the top of this page: type your domain and it queries 16 public DNS servers across several countries, compares the answers and tells you in one sentence whether the domain is ready.
If you'd rather check from your computer's terminal, ask a public server directly. On Windows, macOS or Linux:
nslookup yourdomain.com 8.8.8.8
On macOS and Linux, dig also shows the remaining TTL:
dig A yourdomain.com @1.1.1.1
dig NS yourdomain.com @8.8.8.8
The difference is that the terminal asks one server at a time. The tool asks 16 at once and shows who has updated and who hasn't.
A record or name servers (NS): which one did you change?
These are the two most common changes, and each has its own timing:
A record: says which IP address the domain points to, that is, where the page is hosted. You change the A record when you switch hosting but keep the same DNS dashboard.
Name servers (NS): say which company answers for the domain's DNS (for example, Cloudflare). You change NS when you move the domain to another DNS manager, and from then on every record comes from there.
The tool checks both at once. If NS has changed but the A record doesn't exist in the new manager yet, it tells you: the domain answers, but leads to no page.
Stop configuring DNS. Use AdsX.
With AdsX, your domain comes already pointed, with SSL, in one click.
TTL (time to live) is how long, in seconds, a server may keep an answer before asking again. A record with TTL 3600 stays cached for up to 1 hour; with TTL 300, up to 5 minutes.
The TTL that counts is the one set before the change: it decides how long servers keep repeating the old answer. That's why lowering the TTL after the change doesn't speed up that change, only the next one.
Can you speed up DNS propagation?
You can't force other people's servers to forget their cache. What you can do:
Lower the TTL a day before the change (to 300, for example). When the change happens, servers keep the old answer for at most 5 minutes.
Clear your computer's cache (ipconfig /flushdns on Windows). It only fixes your machine: visitors keep their own cache.
Request a purge on public DNS: Google Public DNS and Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 have pages to flush a domain's cache. It helps people using those servers, not the whole internet.
The rest is waiting, and checking again.
Why do I see the new site and other people don't?
Because everyone uses a different DNS server. Your provider may have updated already while someone else's is still within the old answer's TTL. The opposite happens too: your browser or router may be holding the old answer while the world already sees the new one.
That's why opening the site on your phone proves nothing. The tool queries servers in several countries precisely to show what your visitors see.
A domain on Cloudflare's network (with the proxy on) answers with different IPs in each region. That's normal, not pending propagation: the tool recognizes it and counts it as updated.
When affiliates can launch the campaign
Only after the domain is ready worldwide. If the campaign goes live first, some clicks land on a page that won't load or on the old address: you pay for the click and lose the sale.
There's a second risk: Google Ads reviews the ad's destination. If the review bot gets the old answer or an error page, the ad can be disapproved for a destination that doesn't work, and a new affiliate account has no history to absorb disapprovals.
Check the domain here until the sentence says it's safe to advertise.
Open the page with https:// and make sure the padlock shows (the SSL certificate is usually issued only after the domain points to the new hosting).
Only then publish the campaign.
DNS propagation FAQ
What is DNS propagation?
It's the time DNS servers around the world take to replace a domain's old answer with the new one. Your change applies instantly where you made it; what takes time is every server on the internet clearing its own cache.
Why should affiliates wait for propagation before advertising?
If the campaign goes live first, some clicks land on a page that doesn't load yet or on the old address: you pay for the click and lose the sale. Google Ads can also disapprove the ad for a destination that doesn't work. Check here and launch the campaign once the domain is ready.
How long does propagation take?
Changing the address (A record) usually takes a few minutes to a few hours. Changing name servers (NS) can take up to 48 hours, because the domain registry keeps that information longer.
Why do some servers still show the old value?
Each server keeps an answer for a period called the TTL. Until it expires, the server keeps replying with what it saved. Our tool shows how long each one has left.
Can I speed up propagation?
You can't force other people's servers to forget their cache. What you can do is set a low TTL before the change, so the next change arrives faster.
What's the difference between A and NS records?
The A record says which IP address the domain points to, that is, where the page is hosted. NS says which name servers answer for the domain, for example Cloudflare's. Switching hosting changes the A; switching DNS manager changes the NS. This tool checks both at once.
