I’m always tinkering around with my network settings to achieve the perfect latency in online games, so I can, for once, stop blaming the internet connection for my subpar skills. The first step in this order is changing your DNS from the default resolver to a better option; the usual recommendation is either Google or Cloudflare.

While these DNS resolvers are good alternatives, there are other options that might work better for you. Upon testing, I found that Google and Cloudflare were far from the best options, and a less common name worked best for me at minimizing my latency in multiplayer games.

So what is DNS, and why does it matter for gaming?

What DNS does for your gaming connection

Credit: Shaheer Khan/MUO

For those not familiar, a DNS resolver is akin to the internet’s phonebook. Since your device doesn’t know where a website is located, it initially sends a request to your DNS resolver, which guides it to the relevant address. What you see on the surface while typing the address isn’t the complete picture; many background processes are involved in reaching the proper destination, which is the job of the DNS resolver.

Now, typically, the default DNS server your ISP has can become overburdened with requests or sometimes have slow infrastructure, which can slow down your response times. Switching to a resolver like Google or Cloudflare will give you an edge when browsing, since they have great infrastructure, higher capacity, and are more transparent about privacy protections.

Faster DNS for gaming means it takes less time to connect to game servers, since a slower resolver can delay the initial handshake. With a good resolver, you also have a reduced risk of getting connection timeouts, since poor resolvers are crowded and, when overburdened, can lead to slower response times.

I tested Google, Cloudflare, and Quad9 against each other

Quad9’s results actually shocked me

Against my ISP’s default resolver, Google and Cloudflare performed amazingly. I tested my latency in Rainbow Six Siege, a game I’ve put hundreds of hours into, and I could feel my shots being snappier and the connection much more stable. The actual surprise came from Quad9 — I noticed a reduction in latency of a few ms, to around 94ms on average, compared to 100ms on other resolvers. The vast difference was hard for me to believe, which is why I used various tools to benchmark each DNS and determine which one is best for multiplayer games.

First, I looked up DNS server timing using PowerShell, and here are the results stacked.

For anyone who wants to try it out for themselves, here’s the script I ran, swapping the DNS between tests.

• netsh interface ip set dns "Ethernet" static 9.9.9.9
• netsh interface ip add dns "Ethernet" 149.112.112.112 index=2
• ipconfig /flushdns
• Measure-Command { nslookup yourdomain.com }

As seen in the results above, my default ISP resolver was the slowest, Google’s DNS was a bit faster, and Cloudflare was an improvement over the default. However, switching to Quad9 gave me the best results and reduced the lookup time by nearly 2/3, which wasn’t the difference I expected.

Then again, the lookup time still doesn’t determine if Quad9 was the best DNS out of the bunch for gaming, so I ran packetlosstest to test packet loss, a term used to describe lost data that isn’t able to make it to the server, and the resolver’s upstream routing can contribute to this a lot.

Ideally, for a competitive game, there should be very minimal packet loss (1–2% at max), but anything higher can disrupt the gameplay experience, and the actions you perform may not even be registered in your game, which can cost you a match. Instead of testing it on random multiplayer games, I went to packetlosstest.com to compare them, and again, Quad9 came out victorious with 0% packet loss over 10 seconds of testing, multiple times.

On the other hand, Cloudflare performed poorly, with 6.7% packet loss; Google was at 0.7%, while my default IP DNS had 2.0%. Cloudflare’s high packet loss is an anomaly, and I got similar results even after several runs, which leads me to think the cause might be routing from my ISP to the nearest Cloudflare node.

Although I’ve made it clear that a good DNS doesn’t improve internet speed, you may get a slight improvement in latency with a good resolver. That improvement comes from reduced response time, and the result may vary from user to user — those with higher latency in the 150–200ms range may notice a meaningful improvement.

Quad9 won my test, but should you switch?

One thing most people won’t tell you about DNS results is that they’re subjective. What worked for me doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for others, which is why benchmarking before switching matters. Nevertheless, Quad9 proved the best option for me. Its privacy focus is just icing on top because it blocks malware, doesn’t track users, and, of course, has a fast lookup time for gaming, making it worth switching for performance alone, let alone the other privacy advantages that come with it.

OS

Any

Individual pricing

Free

Developer(s)

Quad9

GENRE

DNS Provider

Quad9 is a free, global DNS service that protects your devices from cyber threats. It blocks access to malicious websites spreading malware and scams. Based in Switzerland, Quad9 ensures strict privacy by never logging or selling your personal IP address, while keeping your internet fast, secure, and easy to use.