Free Dynamic and Static DNS Services and Domain Name Servers

List on this page are free DNS services that provide your site with nameservers, whether your site has a static IP address or whether it has a dynamic IP address.

If you need reliable DNS services and don't want to rely on free services, or you need more sophisticated DNS services for load balancing, you might want to check out a commercial service like EasyDNS. Besides the more advanced DNS services provided, commercial DNS services typically also have numerous redundant name servers located in separate locations, thus potentially making the service more reliable.
What are Static/Dynamic DNS and Why Do I Want Them?

When you host your website on a commercial or free web host, you usually get a static IP address for your website - that is, an IP address that doesn't change. (IP addresses are the like street addresses on the Internet.) Although web hosts typically provide the name servers for your domain name hosted on their servers, you may sometimes want to outsource your DNS so that you can freely manage your own domain names (such as when you want the freedom to create new subdomain names that reside on different web hosts). Some people outsource their DNS because they have numerous servers in diverse locations answering to the same domain name (for load balancing) - they have more sophisticated DNS needs than the typical site (in this case, they may want something known as round robin DNS). Still others simply don't want to put all their eggs in one basket.

Dynamic IP addresses usually occur when a website is hosted on someone's personal computer, and that computer is only connected to the Internet when the owner connects to his/her ISP. The ISP gives that computer an IP address that is different everytime it connects. If this is your situation, you will need a dynamic DNS service that will update their nameservers with your new IP address each time you log on.

Another use for free DNS services like those listed below is when you have registered your own domain name in order to reserve it for future use, but don't have a website to point it to (yet). Some of the free DNS services allow you to park your domain at any of your existing websites.
Related Pages

* Free Web / URL Redirection Services
* How to Register Your Own Domain Name
* Tips on Choosing Your Own Domain Name
* How to Install and Configure the Apache Web Server on Windows
* How to Install and Configure PHP 4 on Apache for Windows
* How to Add CGI Script Support to Apache on Windows

Disclaimer

The information provided on this page comes without any warranty whatsoever. Use it at your own risk. Just because a program, book, document or service is listed here or has a good review does not mean that I endorse or approve of the program or of any of its contents. All the other standard disclaimers also apply.
Free DNS Services and DNS Servers for Static and Dynamic IP Addresses

FreeDNS - Free DNS, Dynamic DNS, Static DNS New

FreeDNS provides free dynamic and static DNS. You can create DNS entries for an unlimited number of domains and up to 20 subdomains per account. Subdomain names from your domain, unfortunately, are also free for others to use for their websites. If you set your status to "Private", others will still be able to use subdomains from your domain name, but you'll be allowed to screen them. Note though, even before you accept or reject the application, that website will be "live" on the Internet. This service also provides web redirection, including URL cloaking.
The Public DNS Service

This is one of the oldest and longest running free DNS services providing 2 name servers for your website. If you need a name server or two for your site, and don't wish to use your web host's name servers or pay for commercial DNS services, try this one. Managing your domain records require some expertise though, since they do not provide you an easy interface like some of the other free and commercial DNS servers. However, you really get to control nearly every aspect of your domain records. You can add A records, CNAME records, MX records and nearly everything else that can go into the name server records for your domain You can have unlimited number of domains here. Note: they rely on donor hardware and connectivity for their name servers.
Mydomain and MyDNS Domain Name Services

They provide free DNS services for your domain name, free email forwarding, free URL redirection for your domain (with or without cloaking/stealth, with path forwarding), free parking, the ability to change your MX records, A records, SOA records, etc.
EveryDNS

EveryDNS provides static DNS services, dynamic DNS resolution, redirection of your domain name to an existing URL, etc. Although the service is free, they solicit donations to support their services.
DYNU Dynamic DNS Service

This dynamic DNS service will allow you to host your own website, FTP, email, telnet, chat server on your own machine. You get a subdomain name (yourname.dynu.com) and a small program which will inform the DNS server whenever you're online as to which IP address you're at.
Yi.org Dynamic DNS and Web Redirection

Want dynamic DNS or web redirection? You get subdomains like yourname.whyi.org, yourname.yi.org, yourname.weedns.org, yourname.b0b.com which you can point to any IP address you like, and a URL (eg, yi.org/yourname/) which you can redirect to any URL.
DynDNS

You can get up to 5 subdomain names like yourname.dyndns.org which you can redirect to either a static or dynamic IP address. Alternatively, they also provide URL or web redirection where you can get hostnames (subdomains of domain names like doesntexist.org, webhop.net, webhop.org, etc) that are redirected to your actual URL. I'm not sure if there are any advertisements imposed on your site when you use their web redirection service.
ZoneEdit

ZoneEdit allows you to get free DNS services for 5 domains, provided your domains do not get a lot of traffic (according to their FAQ, "a lot" means something like a million hits per year or 200MB worth of traffic per domain; note this is 200MB worth of DNS queries, not the bandwidth used by your web pages). You can also forward your email, park your domains, and run websites on your own computer with their dynamic DNS services.
No-IP Dynamic DNS, Static DNS for your Dynamic IP

No-IP offers you Dynamic DNS so that you can run your websites from your own computer. They also provide you with a short hostnames (like yourname.hopto.org) that you can redirect to your existing website, ie, URL redirection. They also redirect email sent to you@yoursite.no-ip.com to up to three email servers/addresses of your choosing. You can have up to a maximum of 5 subdomain names here.