What is Quad9?
| Category | Public DNS |
|---|---|
| Company | Quad9 Foundation |
| Headquarters | Switzerland (EFTA) |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ownership | Swiss not-for-profit foundation |
| Price | Free · free plan: yes |
| Platforms | Any device · DoH · DoT · DNSCrypt |
| Open source | Not stated |
| Data hosted in | 230+ clusters in 110+ countries · own network |
| Alternative to | OpenDNS · Google Public DNS |
Who is behind Quad9
Quad9 is a free public DNS resolver run by the Quad9 Foundation, a Swiss, not-for-profit organisation based in Zürich (c/o SWITCH, Werdstrasse 2). The service went online in August 2016. Its founding organisations are Global Cyber Alliance, IBM and Packet Clearing House (PCH), and today it is funded by grants, partnerships and individual donors. Mullvad, for example, says it is shutting down its own public DNS servers in November 2026 and sponsoring Quad9 instead.
The foundation council is chaired by Bill Woodcock, Secretary General of Packet Clearing House. Other members include Martin Leuthold, who heads security and network at SWITCH, Florian Schütz, director of Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Centre, and Frédérick Douzet, professor of geopolitics at the University of Paris 8.
Where Quad9 hosts your data
Quad9 answers queries from its own network (Quad9, AS19281), with 230+ resolver clusters in more than 110 countries; its homepage names Equinix as a hosting partner. Because the addresses are anycast, your queries go to the nearest cluster, which can be outside Europe when you travel. The quad9.net website runs on SWITCH (AS559), the Swiss research and education network. No US cloud is involved in resolving your queries.
| Domain | Used for | Hosting provider | ASN | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| quad9.net | website | SWITCH | AS559 | Switzerland |
| 9.9.9.9 | resolver | Quad9 | AS19281 | anycast |
Checked 25 Oct 2026. Hosting can change – report a change.
Quad9 pricing
Quad9 is free for everyone – its FAQ says “Quad9 is completely free for everyone”. There are no subscriptions, no accounts and no ads. The service is financed by grants, partnerships and donations, and you can donate on its website. Google Public DNS is also free; the difference is in what is logged, not in the price.
Addresses, protocols and privacy
Quad9 offers three services. The recommended one blocks malicious domains and validates DNSSEC: IPv4 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112, IPv6 2620:fe::fe and 2620:fe::9, DNS over HTTPS at https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query and DNS over TLS at dns.quad9.net. The same service with EDNS Client Subnet (ECS), which passes part of your network address to websites so large content networks can pick a nearby server, uses 9.9.9.11 and 149.112.112.11 (dns11.quad9.net). An unsecured service without malware blocking uses 9.9.9.10 and 149.112.112.10 (dns10.quad9.net); Quad9 calls it a service for experts only. DNSCrypt is supported too.
Blocking is limited to malicious domains – phishing, malware, exploit kits. Quad9 combines threat intelligence from 25+ providers, updated several times a day or in near real time, and answers blocked domains with NXDOMAIN, so they look as if they do not exist. It does not block ads or adult content, and says it has no plans for content filtering. Wrongly blocked domains can be reported to support.
Privacy is where Quad9 differs most from Google. Its privacy policy (version 1.1, June 2026) treats every IP address as personal data and says “Quad9 does not collect or record user IP addresses”: addresses stay in memory for microseconds to milliseconds and are never written to disk. What it keeps are counters – queries by location, type, response code and protocol – grouped so that no region is smaller than a country or 10,000 people. Quad9 says it does not share, sell or rent anything that could identify a user, and applies its strictest rule, combining Swiss FADP, GDPR and US definitions, to everyone. Google Public DNS, by comparison, keeps your full IP address with your queries for 24–48 hours.
What users say about Quad9
Quad9 has no reviews on Trustpilot yet (checked 25 October 2026).
Pros and cons
Pros of Quad9
- Huge network – 230+ resolver clusters in more than 110 countries
- Strong privacy – IP addresses are not recorded, only aggregate counters
- Useful malware and phishing blocking from 25+ threat feeds
- Flexible choice of filtered, unfiltered and ECS addresses
- Trustworthy not-for-profit Swiss foundation with no ads
Cons of Quad9
- No ad or tracker blocking
- No EDNS Client Subnet on the default addresses
- Not in the EU – Switzerland is in the EFTA
- Slow fix for false positives – you report them to support
Verdict on Quad9
Verdict: Quad9 is the best European public DNS resolver: short addresses, a global network, every modern protocol and malware blocking, from a Swiss foundation that does not record your IP address. If you also want ads blocked, add a filter elsewhere or use AdGuard DNS; if data must stay strictly in the EU, use DNS4EU. Best for: anyone replacing Google Public DNS or their provider's resolver. Not for: people who want ads blocked at DNS level.
Quad9 is ranked #1 in Best European alternatives to Google Public DNS and in Best European public DNS resolvers.
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Quad9: FAQ
Is Quad9 a European company?
Yes. Quad9 is run by the Quad9 Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Zürich, Switzerland. Switzerland is not in the EU, but it is in the EFTA, and Quad9 applies Swiss data protection law and the GDPR.
Is Quad9 free?
Yes. Quad9 is free for everyone, with no account and no ads. It is funded by grants, partnerships and donations.
Is Quad9 better than Google Public DNS?
For privacy, yes: Quad9 says it does not record IP addresses, while Google keeps them for 24–48 hours. Quad9 also blocks malware by default. Both have global networks and support DoH, DoT and DNSSEC.
What are the Quad9 DNS addresses?
9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 for IPv4, 2620:fe::fe and 2620:fe::9 for IPv6, https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query for DNS over HTTPS and dns.quad9.net for DNS over TLS.
Rate Quad9
Based on public pricing, documentation and user reviews · Changelog · Oct 2026: first version