🌐 DNS Propagation Checker — Global Resolver Bulk Tool

Checks how a domain resolves across 15 major global DNS resolvers — Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, OpenDNS, Verisign, Yandex, AdGuard, CleanBrowsing, Neustar, and more. Detects mid-propagation inconsistency, regional cache poisoning, and misconfigured authoritative servers.

DNSChecker.org's free tier caps you at 1 domain per check. Their Pro plan is $29/mo for bulk. This actor runs 15 resolvers × N domains in parallel for $0.002 per domain-check.

What it does

For every domain and record type you provide:

• Queries 15 geographically diverse resolvers in parallel
• Groups identical responses together ("consistency groups")
• Returns propagation status: fully_propagated / partially_propagated / inconsistent / no_data
• Reports per-resolver: records returned, TTL, NXDOMAIN/NoAnswer flags, errors
• Covers record types A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA, CAA

Example

import requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nexgendata~dns-propagation-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=" + APIFY_TOKEN,
    json={
        "domains": ["newdomain.example.com"],
        "recordTypes": ["A", "MX"]
    }
)

for r_item in r.json():
    print(f"{r_item['domain']} {r_item['record_type']} — {r_item['propagation_status']}")
    print(f"  {r_item['unique_responses']} unique responses across {r_item['total_resolvers']} resolvers")
    for group in r_item["groups"]:
        print(f"  [{group['resolver_count']} resolvers] → {group['records']}")

Sample output:

newdomain.example.com A — partially_propagated
  2 unique responses across 15 resolvers
  [12 resolvers] → ['203.0.113.50']
  [3 resolvers] → ['203.0.113.99']   ← stale cache
newdomain.example.com MX — fully_propagated
  1 unique responses across 15 resolvers

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nexgendata~dns-propagation-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domains":["example.com"],"recordTypes":["A","AAAA","MX","TXT"]}'

Common use cases

• Post-change verification — after a DNS update, confirm it's live everywhere before cutting over traffic
• CDN debugging — CDN pointing to old IP in one region? Find which resolvers are stale
• Email delivery investigation — MX records inconsistent means deliverability problems
• SPF/DKIM/DMARC rollout — verify TXT records propagated globally before flipping enforcement policy
• CAA enforcement verification — before requesting new TLS certs, confirm CAA records are propagated

Why 15 resolvers, not 50?

Most "global DNS" tools claim 40-60 resolvers but 90% of them share cache infrastructure — querying them is redundant. The 15 we query are operator-distinct: Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, OpenDNS (Cisco), Verisign, Yandex, AdGuard, NextDNS, Cisco Umbrella, Neustar, etc. Each has independent cache behavior. You see real diversity, not noise.

Pricing

• $0.005 per run (startup)
• $0.002 per domain-check (one record type on one domain)

10 domains × 4 record types = 40 domain-checks = $0.085.

FAQ

Q: Does this query authoritative servers or just recursive resolvers? A: Recursive resolvers. That's the point — we're measuring what users see, not what the zone file says.

Q: TTL countdown? A: Each resolver's current TTL is returned. Useful for predicting when a stale response will expire.

Q: Can I check internal / private domains? A: No — external resolvers can't resolve your internal zones.

Q: What's "inconsistent" mean vs. "partially_propagated"? A: partially_propagated = exactly 2 unique responses (classic mid-migration state). inconsistent = 3+ unique responses (either active attack, misconfigured split-horizon, or broken authoritative servers).

Related tools

• WHOIS Domain Lookup
• SSL Certificate Checker
• Email RBL Bulk Checker
• Email DMARC Auditor

Try it

🌐 DNS Propagation Checker on Apify

New to Apify? Get free platform credits.

💻 Code Example — Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("nexgendata/dns-propagation-checker").call(run_input={
    # Fill in the input shape from the actor's input_schema
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

🌐 Code Example — cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nexgendata~dns-propagation-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ /* input schema */ }'

❓ FAQ

Q: How do I get started? Sign up at apify.com, grab your API token from Settings → Integrations, and run the actor via the Apify console, API, Python SDK, or any integration (Zapier, Make.com, n8n).

Q: What's the typical cost per run? See the pricing section below. Most runs finish under $0.10 for typical batches.

Q: Is this actor maintained? Yes. NexGenData maintains 165+ Apify actors and ships updates regularly. Bug reports via the Apify console issues tab get responses within 24 hours.

Q: Can I use the output commercially? Yes — you own the output data. Check the target site's Terms of Service for any usage restrictions on the scraped content itself.

Q: How do I handle rate limits? Apify manages concurrency and retries automatically. For very large batches (10K+ items), run multiple smaller jobs in parallel instead of one mega-job for better reliability.

💰 Pricing

Pay-per-event pricing — you only pay for what you actually extract.

• Actor Start: $0.0001
• result: $0.0050

🔗 Related NexGenData Actors

• Hacker News Scraper
• Google Maps Lead Scraper
• SEC EDGAR Scraper

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New to Apify? Sign up with our referral link — you get free platform credits on signup, and you help fund the maintenance of this actor fleet.

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