🌐 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

🚀 Apify Affiliate Program

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.

📚 More From NexGenData

Explore the full catalog, tutorials, Gumroad data packs, and newsletter at thenextgennexus.com — the brand home for everything we ship.

• 📖 Tutorials & how-to guides
• 🗂️ Full actor catalog with usage examples
• 📦 Gumroad data packs (one-time purchases)
• 📬 Newsletter — monthly drops of new actors and revenue experiments

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Built and maintained by NexGenData — 165+ actors covering scraping, enrichment, MCP servers, and automation. 🏠 Home: thenextgennexus.com

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Why DNS Propagation Checker Beats whatsmydns.net, DNSChecker.org, MXToolbox & Pingdom

Feature	NexGenData DNS Propagation Checker	whatsmydns.net	DNSChecker.org	MXToolbox	Pingdom DNS Check
Cost	$0.005 per check, pay-per-event	Free (rate-limited, ads)	Free + $10+/mo (Pro)	$129+ / month base	$15+ / month base
Bulk input	Thousands per run	One per page	One per page (Pro bulk)	Plan-gated	Plan-gated
Global resolver coverage	25+ resolvers (US, EU, APAC, LATAM)	20+	25+	Limited per plan	Limited
Record types	A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, SOA, CAA	A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, PTR	Yes	Yes	Limited
TTL + last-change tracking	Yes	No	Plan-gated	Yes	Limited
Output	JSON / CSV / Excel	HTML page	HTML / paid CSV	Web UI / paid CSV	Dashboard
Schedule + webhook	Native	None	None	Account-level	Account-level
Auth	Apify token	None	None / account	API plan	Account + plan
Monthly minimum	None	None	None / $10+	$129+	$15+

Most DevOps / SRE teams open four browser tabs (whatsmydns, DNSChecker, MXToolbox, dig) to verify a DNS change has propagated globally. This actor queries 25+ authoritative public resolvers across every continent in parallel, returns the response from each, flags inconsistencies, and ships a JSON / CSV report — so CI pipelines and zero-downtime cutover playbooks can verify propagation programmatically. A drop-in alternative to the manual whatsmydns / DNSChecker dance and cheaper than MXToolbox's enterprise tier.

Related NexGenData Infrastructure Actors

Use case	Actor
Bulk DNS A / MX / NS / TXT / CAA records	dns-records-lookup
WHOIS / RDAP replacement (any TLD)	whois-replacement
Bulk IP-to-country / city / ISP / ASN	ip-geolocation-replacement
SPF / DKIM / DMARC bulk auditor	dmarc-bulk-auditor
Email RBL / blacklist checker	email-rbl-checker
Wappalyzer / BuiltWith tech-stack detector	wappalyzer-replacement
Lighthouse + Core Web Vitals auditor	page-speed-analyzer
WCAG 2.2 accessibility auditor	wcag-accessibility-auditor
Google cache + Wayback Machine viewer	google-cache-viewer
Domain intelligence MCP for AI agents	domain-intelligence-mcp-server

Browse the full NexGenData catalog of 260+ actors at https://apify.com/nexgendata?fpr=2ayu9b