Software Alternatives & Reviews

dnsmasq VS PowerDNS

Compare dnsmasq VS PowerDNS and see what are their differences

dnsmasq logo dnsmasq

Dnsmasq is a lightweight, easy to configure DNS forwarder and DHCP server.

PowerDNS logo PowerDNS

PowerDNS offers open source DNS software, services, and support.
  • dnsmasq Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-03
  • PowerDNS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-03

dnsmasq videos

DHCP Server Setup with Dnsmasq

More videos:

  • Review - Quick Configs Ubiquiti - DNSMASQ & DHCP
  • Review - DD-WRT DNSMasq Setup and Local DNS

PowerDNS videos

How to install PowerDNS. Running it in your local Ubuntu16

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to dnsmasq and PowerDNS)
Security & Privacy
59 59%
41% 41
Ad Blockers
58 58%
42% 42
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
DNS Services
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using dnsmasq and PowerDNS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, dnsmasq should be more popular than PowerDNS. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

dnsmasq mentions (5)

  • Working on Multiple Web Projects with Docker Compose and Traefik
    This seems like an improvement over my current solution in that it can keep multiple projects open simultaneously and route to each of them, but does add more complexity to the setup. I'm using Dnsmasq (https://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html) to map anything at .lo to the currently running project, like so:
      brew install dnsmasq.
    - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • easiest way to setup internal DNS routing?
    I would use a simple dns proxy like Blocky if you want adblocking or dnsmasq if you don't. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Frustrated with the hardware I own
    The pervious setup was much the same except the lab was under the UDMP without another gateway. I used UnifiOS to create networks(vLANs) and trusted that segregation to work. It did not. As I progressed in my home lab, I went through a few hypervisors and settled on EXSi and vSphere. 100% overkill but that is what labbing is for right? Again progressing through and adding things like windows AD and many Home... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Can I use a custom dns entry to get to my local dev site?
    If you can handle all these, then the easiest way to setup a local dev DNS is dnsmasq. You can install it via HomeBrew. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Is there any way to boot an operating system over PXE?
    If you are still interested, I heartily suggest using dnsmasq to do the dhcp/tftp/PXE service. I’ve used it on airgapped networks to boot systems and install a base Linux OS or run diagnostic tools. Source: over 2 years ago

PowerDNS mentions (1)

  • Configuring DNSDist - A Basic Config
    DNSDist is a great load balancing DNS forwarder/resolver designed by the same people behind PowerDNS. Source: over 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing dnsmasq and PowerDNS, you can also consider the following products

BIND - BIND is by far the most widely used DNS software on the Internet.

Amazon Route 53 - Amazon Route 53 is a highly available and scalable DNS web service.

Unbound - Unbound is a validating, recursive, and caching DNS resolver.

Google Cloud DNS - Reliable, resilient, low-latency DNS serving from Google’s worldwide network of Anycast DNS servers.

AdGuard - Surf the Web Ad-Free and Safely. Shield up!

Cloudflare DNS - Install the free app that makes your phone’s Internet more fast, private, and reliable.