A Record Lookup: Free DNS A Record Checker

An A record lookup shows the IPv4 addresses a domain name points to. Enter any domain or subdomain and this free checker returns each IP address, its reverse DNS hostname and its TTL. Site owners, developers and SEOs use it to confirm DNS changes, troubleshoot downtime and see where a website is pointed.

What Is a DNS A Record?

A DNS A record is a DNS entry that maps a hostname, such as example.com, to a 32-bit IPv4 address, such as 203.0.113.10. When someone types your domain into a browser, a resolver asks DNS for this record and then connects to the IP address it gets back.

The "A" stands for "address." A record data has two parts that matter to you. The first is the IPv4 address itself. The second is the TTL (Time to Live), a number of seconds that tells resolvers how long they may cache the answer before asking again.

A domain can have one A record or several. Each hostname has its own set: example.com and www.example.com are separate names and can point to different addresses. IPv6 addresses live in a different record type, called AAAA, so an A lookup will never show them.

How to Use the A Record Lookup

You can run a lookup in a few seconds with one field and one button. Follow these steps:

1. Type or paste the hostname into the Domain Name field. The placeholder shows the format: example.com. Subdomains such as www.example.com or shop.example.com also work.
2. If you copied a full web address, you can paste it as is. A pasted URL with https:// and a path is trimmed down to its hostname before the lookup runs.
3. Click Lookup A Records. The button changes to "Looking up..." while the request runs.
4. Read the summary line, which says how many A records were found for your domain.
5. Check the results table, which lists the IPv4 Address, Reverse DNS and TTL for every record returned.

Worked Example: Reading a Two-Record Result

Say you run a store at yourstore.com and you search for it. The tool reports "2 A record(s) found for yourstore.com" and shows a table like this (the values are illustrative):

Here is what that tells you. Two addresses means traffic can be spread across two servers, a setup called round-robin DNS. A TTL of 300s means resolvers may cache the answer for five minutes, so a change you make should reach most visitors quickly. The dash on the first row means no reverse DNS hostname was found for that IP, which is common and not an error. The second row's hostname hints at the company that operates that server.

If you expected only one server, the second address is your clue to check your DNS host for a leftover record from an old setup.

How Do You Read and Act on the Results?

Each column answers a different question, and each has a typical fix when something looks wrong.

IPv4 Address

This is where the hostname currently points. Compare it with the IP your web host gave you. If they match, your A record is correct. If they differ, update the A record at your DNS provider, or confirm that you are not intentionally using a proxy or CDN, which shows its own addresses instead of your origin server's.

Reverse DNS

Reverse DNS is the hostname a provider has assigned to an IP address (a PTR record). It often names the data center or hosting company, so it is a useful hint about who runs the server. A dash means none was found or it only repeats the IP. Many hosts never set one, so treat it as a clue and not as proof of the provider. To dig deeper into who owns an address range, try an ASN lookup.

TTL

TTL is shown in seconds. Common values run from 300 (5 minutes) to 3600 (1 hour), and some providers use 14400 or 86400 (one day). Low values make changes spread faster but cause more DNS queries. High values reduce lookups but slow down changes. Because resolvers count down a cached record, the number you see can be lower than the value set at your DNS host.

Messages You May See

A Record vs CNAME: What Is the Difference?

An A record points a name straight to an IPv4 address, while a CNAME points a name to another hostname, which then resolves to an address. Think of the A record as a street address and the CNAME as a forwarding note.

A CNAME cannot sit at the root of a domain alongside the other records that root needs, so root domains normally use A records. Subdomains such as www or blog often use CNAMEs, especially with CDNs and hosted platforms. If your subdomain returns no A records, it may be an alias, so run a CNAME record lookup to see its target. If your site also needs to work over IPv6, check the AAAA record lookup too.

Who Needs an A Record Lookup?

Anyone who needs to know where a hostname points can use this check. These are the most common situations:

• Website migrations: After moving to a new host, confirm the domain now returns the new server's IP and not the old one.
• Troubleshooting downtime: If a site will not load, a wrong, missing or unexpected IP is one of the first things to rule out.
• SEO audits: Confirm that the www and non-www versions resolve where you expect, and spot subdomains pointing to forgotten servers.
• Email and verification setups: Some services ask you to add an A record for a mail or verification hostname. A lookup confirms it is live.
• Security reviews: A record pointing to an IP you do not recognize can signal a hijacked or abandoned subdomain.
• Learning DNS: Students and new site owners can see how a record, its TTL and reverse DNS fit together on real domains.

For a broader view of a domain, the DNS lookup page shows several record types in one result, while this page stays focused on IPv4 addresses.

Best Practices and Troubleshooting Tips

A few habits prevent most DNS headaches.

• Lower the TTL before a move. A day before changing an IP, drop the TTL to 300 seconds. After the cutover is stable, raise it again.
• Check the exact hostname. The root domain and www are separate records. Look up both, and any subdomain you use.
• Keep addresses consistent. If you expect one server and see two addresses, remove the stale record. Mixed answers send some visitors to the old machine.
• Do not paste extra text. Enter only the hostname. Spaces, email addresses or commas trigger the invalid domain message.
• Retry after an unavailable message. This is a temporary failure to complete the check, not proof that your DNS is broken.
• Expect different results from a proxy. If your domain sits behind a CDN or protection service, the IPs shown belong to that service, not your origin.

My change is not showing yet

Resolvers that cached the old answer keep it until the old TTL runs out. So if the old TTL was 3600, some users may see the previous IP for up to an hour. If the result still looks wrong after that, recheck the record at your DNS provider, and confirm that your nameservers are the ones actually in use with an NS record lookup. To compare how different resolvers answer, use a DNS propagation checker.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

This page reports IPv4 A records only. It does not show IPv6 addresses, mail servers, TXT entries or other record types, and it does not tell you whether the web server at an IP is online. The results are what a public resolver returned at that moment, so they can differ briefly from what your own network sees, especially right after an edit.

Reverse DNS is optional for hosts, so an empty value does not mean something is wrong. Likewise, a hostname in that column is a hint about the network operator, not a guarantee about who controls the website.

Enter a hostname in the field above and run the lookup. In a few seconds you will know which IPv4 addresses your domain uses, how long they are cached and whether anything needs fixing. When you want to explore more checks like this, browse the network and IP tools collection.