Cloudflare DNS vs Hurricane Electric Free DNS: privacy compared
Cloudflare DNS and Hurricane Electric Free DNS are both rated in DNS hosting against the same 12 public criteria. Cloudflare DNS does better on independent audit, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, security headers, DNSSEC, API access and two-factor login. Hurricane Electric Free DNS does better on no trackers or telemetry. Cloudflare DNS is based in the United States (Five Eyes); Hurricane Electric Free DNS is based in the United States (Five Eyes).
| Criterion | Cloudflare DNS Our pick | Hurricane Electric Free DNS |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade C C (66/100) | Grade F F (25/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | United States Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | No | No |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | No | Partial source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Partial source | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | Yes source | No |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Partial source | No source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| DNSSEC Can DNSSEC be turned on for hosted zones? | Yes source | No source |
| API access Can records be managed through an API on every plan? | Yes source | No source |
| Two-factor login Do accounts support two-factor authentication with an authenticator app or security key? | Yes source | No source |
Summaries
Cloudflare DNS. Cloudflare DNS scores 66 out of 100 (grade C) on the DNS hosting criteria. It meets 7 of 11 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, DNSSEC, API access and two-factor login. It partly meets independent audit and security headers. It does not meet open source and no trackers or telemetry. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B+.
Hurricane Electric Free DNS. Hurricane Electric Free DNS scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the DNS hosting criteria. It meets 1 of 11 criteria: no ads or data sales. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry, transparency report and TLS configuration. It does not meet open source, independent audit, tells users about requests, security headers, DNSSEC, API access and two-factor login. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade B and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade D.