DNS Provider Comparison
How le_dns compares to other DNS providers
Feature Comparison
| Feature | le_dns | Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 | Google 8.8.8.8 | Quad9 | FDN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Based in | France | USA | USA | Switzerland | France |
| Filtering | None (uncensored) | Optional (1.1.1.2) | None | Malware blocking | None |
| GDPR-native | Yes | No (US entity) | No (US entity) | Partial | Yes |
| DoH | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| DoT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| DoQ | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Secondary DNS hosting | Yes (5 free zones) | No | No | No | No |
| Open source infrastructure | Yes (BIND + dnsdist) | No (proprietary) | No (proprietary) | No (proprietary) | Yes |
| IP logging | Pseudonymized (/16) | Claims no logging | Temporary logging | No IP logging | No logging |
| Infrastructure | Self-hosted EU | Global CDN | Global CDN | Global CDN | Self-hosted FR |
When to Choose le_dns
le_dns is a good fit if one or more of these matter to you:
- Uncensored, unfiltered DNS — No blacklists, no blocking beyond legal obligations. What you query is what gets resolved.
- GDPR-native infrastructure — We’re a European entity running on European servers. Your data never touches US soil and isn’t subject to US surveillance laws like CLOUD Act or FISA 702.
- Transparency and auditability — Our stack is built on BIND and dnsdist, both open source and battle-tested. The architecture is public, and our privacy practices are honest (we say “pseudonymization” not “anonymization” because that’s what the law actually says).
- DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) — We support DoQ on port 8853. Most providers don’t. If you want the lowest-latency encrypted DNS available today, DoQ is it.
- Secondary DNS hosting alongside your resolver — Unlike any other public resolver, we also offer free secondary DNS zone hosting. You get nameservers and a resolver from the same European provider.
- No vendor lock-in — Our infrastructure is spread across OVHcloud, Scaleway, and Hetzner. No single provider can pull the rug.
When Another Provider Might Fit Better
Honesty matters. Here’s when a competitor is the right choice:
- Quad9 if you want malware and phishing blocking baked in. Quad9 blocks known-bad domains by default using threat intelligence feeds. If you want a filtered, family-safe or security-conscious resolver and don’t mind the Swiss/US entity setup, Quad9 is solid.
- Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 if you need a globally distributed CDN edge resolving your queries. Cloudflare’s Anycast network spans 300+ cities and will often win on raw latency from non-European locations. They also offer optional filtering variants (1.1.1.2 for malware, 1.1.1.3 for adult content).
- FDN if you want a French non-profit association running your DNS. FDN (French Data Network) has been defending internet freedom since 1992. If you’re comfortable with basic DNS (no DoH/DoT/DoQ) and want to support civil society, FDN is a great pick.
- Google 8.8.8.8 if you need maximum global availability and you’re not concerned about Google having visibility into your DNS traffic. It’s widely cached, redundant to a fault, and will resolve anything. Just know what you’re trading.
A Note on “No Logging” Claims
Every DNS provider claims they don’t log your queries. The reality is nuanced:
- We pseudonymize — IPs are truncated to /16 (IPv4) or /48 (IPv6) before any logging happens. We’re explicit that this is pseudonymization, not anonymization, per GDPR Article 4(5).
- Cloudflare has published independent audits of their no-logging claims, but they remain a US company subject to US law. Their privacy policy is more detailed than most, but trust is still required.
- Google acknowledges temporary logging for diagnostics. As an advertising company, their incentive structure around data is fundamentally different.
- Quad9 is run by a Swiss non-profit and claims no IP logging — the organizational structure offers more accountability than a for-profit.
There’s no way to fully verify any DNS provider’s logging practices from the outside. What you can control is jurisdiction, organizational incentives, and technical architecture.
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