corednsvspdns
Two self-hosted DNS projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| coredns | pdns | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 69/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 41 in DNS | #9 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 14 428 | 4 520 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +64 | +28 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 · 21 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | C++ |
Which one should you pick?
coredns scores 76/100 against 69/100 for pdns, so it is the safer default.
coredns ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for pdns.
If you want the quickest setup, coredns is easier to run; pdns needs more configuration.
coredns is growing faster right now (+64 stars in 30 days).
Key differences
- License: coredns is Apache-2.0, pdns is GPL-2.0.
- Language: coredns is written mainly in Go, pdns in C++.
- Only coredns ships an official Docker image.
- Platforms only coredns lists: Build from Source.
- Platforms only pdns lists: Debian, FreeBSD, Homebrew.
- Features only coredns lists: Access control lists, Authoritative zone serving from files, DNS64 IPv6 translation, Forwarding to upstream resolvers and 11 more.
- Features only pdns lists: Catalog zones (RFC 9432), DNS Load Balancing, DNSSEC signing, Dynamic DNS updates (RFC 2136) and 11 more.
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