Finding the best DNS for PS4 can help you get the best experience from your PlayStation system. It will help you get fast speeds that lower lag when you’re playing, open up geo-restricted media so you can stream more shows, and help you gain extra privacy online.
There are many different DNS options out there. This review will look at some of the most well-known DNS options and help you decide which one will work best for your needs.
The Best DNS for PS4 & PS5
When you are trying to pick the best DNS for PS4 & PS5, you have to look at many different features. You want a DNS that makes your connection faster, but you also want to gain access to the most content.
Getting a more private connection and being able to customize your internet experience could also be helpful with your DNS.
Best DNS Servers for Playstation 4 & 5: Cloudflare DNS
When you consider all the different features and benefits of a DNS, in our opinion Cloudflare DNS is the top choice overall. The DNS is free to use, offers a ton of server locations, and gives break-neck speed.
Cloudflare has been instrumental in making HTTPS encryption more common. They have taken that concern for internet safety to the next level by offering a DNS that can help with extra encryption and fast speeds.
You will still want to test Cloudflare on your Playstation device to ensure you get high speeds in your location.
Most Unique Features: OpenDNS
OpenDNS has decent speeds and some security, but where it excels is the ability to control the content on your DNS. This control can be critical for parents who want to limit what their children can access on their PS4.
Their basic family controls will block most adult sites and videos. When you upgrade your plan, you gain even more control, and you can block specific sites, genres, or keywords. OpenDNS gives you the ability to monitor what your kids are doing on their PS4, which can be very useful.
Best for Geo-Restricted Content: Smart DNS Proxy
If you’re most interested in watching geo-restricted content, Smart DNS Proxy offers you the most control over what libraries you can access. They give you a list of DNS locations so you can pick what country you are using.
You can find a location that offers the streaming library you are most interested in watching. With Smart DNS Proxy, you open up a whole lot more streaming content.
Why Use a DNS on Your Playstation?
There are a lot of possible advantages to changing your default to the best DNS servers for PS4. You can get faster connection speeds, change location, increase privacy and implement parental controls with your DNS.
The Best DNS settings for PlayStation can make every experience on your device more fun. With just a little setup, you can add features and benefits to your gaming system, and in some cases, you can enjoy these at no extra cost.
Increase Speeds
There are very few feelings worse than playing a game on your Playstation, and you experience a lag kill. There was nothing you could do, but now some obnoxious 12 year old is questioning your life choices as you are forced to wait for the next match to start. You never had a chance.
There are a lot of factors that affect the speed of your connection. DNS can speed up or slow down your internet due to how far you are from the server location, how up-to-date the servers are kept, and traffic on the server.
When you change your DNS, you can find a server that works better for your specific location and the tasks you are likely to use. When you connect to your PS, you want to make sure that the DNS server has high speeds and low ping.
Using your default server, you have no idea how fast it is. Testing a few different DNS options lets you find a higher speed connection that will help keep you in the game.
Access Geo-Restricted Content
You can choose your DNS location, which can help you access content from other parts of the world. Many streaming services have a location-dependent media library. If you change your DNS, you can see the library for the DNS location instead of where you are physically located.
Opening up this new media can give you more options to stream shows, movies, and music. You can find a list of other countries’ libraries for specific streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Disney Plus, and many more.
Sometimes choosing a DNS that is too far away from you can slow down the speeds, so there may be a trade-off for gaining access to some content. You will want to perform speed tests in the locations you want to stream from the most to make sure you will be able to watch the shows.
Helps With Privacy
There are a few ways that the best DNS for Playstation can help increase your privacy online. The primary methods involve adding encryption and limiting available data from DNS queries.
Currently, most DNS options don’t encrypt their data. A 3rd-party can easily see what you are searching for when you use an unencrypted DNS. By adding encryption, you make it a lot harder to collect and study your DNS queries.
To limit your data from each DNS query, your DNS can use query name minimization or QNAME. This system only gives partial information to most servers and only delivers your full query to the server with the information you seek.
Parental Control Options
With some DNS servers, you can block content you don’t want available for your home and family. You can block certain words, sites, or even whole categories, depending on your DNS options.
Being able to control what the DNS can access can help you ensure that your family doesn’t accidentally find content that is too mature for them online. Some content may be able to get past these blocks, but it will help limit the problem.
What to Consider When Looking For a DNS
When you’re looking for the best DNS servers for PS5, many factors can help you choose one. You want to make sure it allows you to increase your speed. You want to find one that can access the streaming libraries you wish to use. Finding the right mix of features is crucial for your top DNS.
Speed
Speed can be a significant factor in choosing your DNS. You don’t want to pick a DNS that is slower than your ISP default one. Many of these DNS servers list speeds, but you will also want to test the speeds out yourself to make sure the server is faster for you.
Locations
If you are trying to access geo-restricted content, you want to make sure that they offer servers in locations you want to use. If there are multiple different locations you want to use, you will want to find DNS servers that can help you access all of them.
Remember that picking some locations may slow your internet down. You may only want to use specific locations when accessing content there and then switch over to faster DNS servers for other things.
Security
Does the DNS offer encryption and DNS leak prevention? Many servers still do not have these features, but when choosing your DNS, you should be aware of what they offer for increased security.
Free Vs. Paid
As a general rule, paid servers will have more features, more locations, and more servers. If you plan to pay for your DNS, you want to make sure that the features you are gaining access to will help you.
Setting Up a DNS for PS4 & PS5
Setting up a DNS for your Playstation can differ a little depending on which Playstation you’re using. You can also use it on your router directly. The significant steps all stay the same. The whole process is easy and straightforward if you follow the step-by-step instructions.
You have to find what DNS you want to use. Each DNS has a primary and a secondary address. The choice will only come into effect if your primary DNS is down or can’t be reached.
PS4 and PS5 DNS Setup
Setting up a DNS on your PS4 and PS5 is very simple. The process is the same, but it will look slightly different because the menu designs are unique. As long as you know how to get to your settings, you can change the DNS on your Playstation.
- Turn on your PS4 or PS5
- Go to settings and select network
- Select Set Up Internet Connection.
- Choose between setting up Wi-Fi or LAN
- Select Custom
- Select Automatic for your IP address
- In the DHCP Host Name field, select Do Not Specify
- Select Manual for DNS Settings
- Enter your chosen Primary DNS and Secondary DNS settings
- Select Automatic for MTU Settings
- Select Do Not Use for Proxy Server
Now your Playstation is using your new primary and secondary DNS options. You will use these servers whenever your PS accesses the internet. If you want to change them later, just repeat the steps above and enter the new DNS servers you want to use.
Router
Sometimes you will want to set up your DNS to your router. Using your router will allow you to use the server on all the devices your router is connected to, including your Playstation. This process’s steps can vary depending on what router you have, but they will involve a few basic steps.
- Access your router’s Web Interface
- Find the option for using the DNS on your router
- Enter the primary and secondary DNS options you want to use
If you feel comfortable accessing your router’s web interface, you can most likely find the spot you need. You can find information on your specific router by visiting the company’s website. They will let you know the exact menus you will have to click on to start using the DNS of your choice.
How to Test Speed on a DNS Server?
You will want to test a lot of DNS options at once, and then you will want to be able to test the best options individually on your Playstation device. You can do this by using automated test options to narrow the field and then manual test options on your Playstation.
Automatic Test
There are a few different tools that you can use to measure how fast a DNS server is for you. Two of the most popular options to run these tests are Benchmark and Namebench. With these programs, you can test the speeds of many of the most popular DNS servers.
You can set what sites the program tests the DNS servers with, and you can set how many times it should try them. The program will give you the results at the end. The average time in ms is the most crucial stat for figuring out the DNS speed.
Once you run the test, you will see speed results. You can choose to check the top handful of DNS servers manually to see which one works the best for your PS4 & PS5.
Manual Test
Once you have your top few choices, you can enter them into your DNS servers for your Playstation Device. Your Playstation allows you to test the speed of your connection. This test will give you a better idea of which DNS works the best for you.
- Go to Settings
- Select Network
- Select Test Internet Speed
- Check the speed results
You want to see the highest number for both upload and download speed. Knowing these speeds will help ensure that your new DNS works fast enough to avoid lag.
Best DNS for Playstation
Here is a list of some of the most popular options for best DNS for PS5. You will be able to see what options these DNS servers offer so you can tell if they will help you use your PS4 & PS5 the way you want to use them.
Google Public DNS
To use the Google Public DNS, you will use 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 in your DNS fields. Google is well known and well respected for providing a plethora of internet services. Their DNS is highly regarded as a swift and secure option.
With the Google Public DNS, you will gain encryption for your DNS queries. They also help limit how much information is shown when you send out queries.
Google lists a lot of their DNS locations, but they don’t write them in plain locations. This lack of information means that you may have to test the DNS to see what geo-restricted content frees up.
Cloudflare DNS
Cloudflare has a long history of trying to make the internet better for all users. They were instrumental in getting websites free SSL encryption. Cloudflare decided to start offering a free DNS in 2018 to continue that process.
To use Cloudflare, their DNS is 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1 for their primary and secondary servers. Cloudflare offers users free access to their DNS to increase their speed and add privacy to their internet.
Cloudflare is one of the fastest DNS options out there, but it doesn’t list its server locations. You may have to experiment to find out what regions are opened up to you for geo-restricted content.
OpenDNS
OpenDNS is part of Cisco, one of the largest and most well-known computer solutions firms. Open DNS started in 2006 to provide a safer internet experience for everyone and has continued that mission with Cisco since 2015.
OpenDNS offers users a very fast connection and the ability to add parental and content controls to your network. The free plan comes preloaded to block adult content. You can customize the controls and add even more features with their premium plan.
To use OpenDNS enter 208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.222 in your DNS field. OpenDNS is a great option if you want to control the content your family can access on your Playstation device.
Comodo Secure DNS
The free Comodo Secure DNS is designed to maximize speed. It doesn’t encrypt your DNS queries until you reach the premium DNS option. You can access these servers at 8.26.56.26, 8.20.247.20 to try out Comodo’s speeds.
Comodo has been helping secure companies since the early 2000s and offers many solutions for businesses and individuals who want a faster and safer internet experience.
Comodo doesn’t list how many server locations they use, so you may have to test what geo-restricted material becomes available when using the DNS.
Quad9
Quad9 is a Switzerland-based company that wants to help make the internet safer and more useful for everyone. The company offers a free DNS, but they do seek donations. To use Quad9, you enter their namesake, 9.9.9.9, 149.112.112.112, in your DNS fields.
The company’s primary goal is helping to increase privacy online. Faster and more useful internet connections are just bonuses. They focus on encrypting your DNS inquiries and providing a secure DNS connection.
You get DNS servers in over 150 locations worldwide, so you can access a lot of different content.
Smart DNS Proxy
Smart DNS Proxy is one of the few DNS options on this list that doesn’t offer a free service option. The system offers high speeds, multiple different servers, and DNS encryption to increase your internet utility.
Smart DNS Proxy and their parent company, Digiport OU, have been providing internet solutions since 1995. During that time, they have built an extensive network of servers. All the locations allow you to access the specific geo-restricted content you want to watch.
Smart DNS Proxy is a good option for high speeds, but it excels in opening up geo-restricted content. Smart DNS Proxy may be a good option if you want a DNS to watch streaming services on your Playstation device.
DNS Vs. VPN
Many people try to pick between a DNS and a VPN. Both options provide some useful features that can help you out. You can use both to increase your internet speed and access geo-restricted material. Why choose one over the other?
VPNs are most useful when protecting privacy is your primary concern. Though some DNS options offer encryption for queries, a VPN will encrypt every piece of data coming into or going out of your computer. VPNs specialize in keeping all your data safe and secure.
VPNs also offer more features overall. You can get ad blockers, split tunneling, dedicated servers for streaming, and double VPN options. The DNS is a much more compact option; it doesn’t add any extra features.
A DNS still functions as a regular IP address, meaning that it doesn’t get blocked by financial sites and other businesses.
Some VPNs will offer a DNS that you can use directly on your Playstation. With other VPNs, you will have to configure your router to the VPN. This process can get complicated depending on the type of router you have.
VPNs tend to cost more, and many of their extra features won’t be useful on your Playstation device. Not being able to use these features makes a DNS the better choice for a Playstation unless you already have or need a VPN for other reasons.
Summary
There are a lot of factors that go into picking the best DNS for PS4. You have to consider speed, server locations, and privacy.
If you are looking for more control of the content your kids are using on their Playstation; you may want to try OpenDNS. If opening up streaming services is most important for you, then Smart DNS Proxy might work best.
In our opinion, the DNS that offers the best combination of those features is Cloudflare. They provide a free DNS that can help you achieve everything you want to do on the PS4 & PS5.
FAQ
Below are some quick questions and answers regarding the best DNS for PS4 & PS5. Everything is covered in more detail in the article above.
