corednsvsnsd
Two self-hosted DNS projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| coredns | nsd | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 60/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 41 in DNS | #12 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 14 400 | 574 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +60 | +2 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 9 |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 · 21 Oct 2026 | NSD_4_15_4_REL · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Go | C |
Which one should you pick?
coredns scores 76/100 against 60/100 for nsd, so it is the safer default.
coredns ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for nsd.
If you want the quickest setup, coredns is easier to run; nsd needs more configuration.
coredns is growing faster right now (+60 stars in 30 days).
coredns details →nsd details →All DNS projects →
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