DNS lookup API
A DNS lookup API over DNS over HTTPS: name a domain, choose record types — A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA, CAA, SRV — and every record returns as its own row with owner name, type, TTL and value. MX rows name a domain's mail provider, TXT rows carry its SPF policy and verification tokens, A and AAAA rows say where it is hosted.
$0.0002 per delivered record · $2 free every month · Failed runs never billed
$ curl $QD/dns_records/run \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $QD_API_KEY" \
-d '{}'
{ "status": "done", "count": 10,
"results": [
{
"domain": "…",
"type": "…",
"ttl": …,
"value": "…" } ],
"cost": 0.002 }
# 10 records × $0.0002 · nothing delivered, nothing charged
What a DNS lookup API does
Any shell has dig; a DNS API earns its place by giving you rows instead of resolver output. Queries go through Google's DoH endpoint and land as uniform records, so a column of domains becomes a table of mail, hosting and delegation facts you can group, count and join like any other dataset here.
Used as an MX record API it classifies mail providers across a domain list; used as a TXT record API it reads the SPF includes and verification tokens — google-site-verification and its provider-specific cousins — that reveal which SaaS vendors a company has wired in. Both are enrichment columns hiding in public records.
What one record looks like
Every delivered record carries these fields. Nullable means the source did not publish it — the field stays empty instead of being guessed.
| Field | Type | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
rank | integer | 1-based position. |
domain | string | Record owner name. |
type | string | Record type. |
ttl | integer · nullable | TTL seconds. |
value | string | Record data. |
Inputs
The whole request. Anything you leave out falls back to the default shown in the catalog.
| Input | Type | Required | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
domain | string | yes | Domain to resolve. |
types | array | no | Default: A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS. |
max_results | integer | no | How many records to deliver at most (1–100). You pay only for delivered records. |
Pricing
DNS lookup API pricing
$0.0002 per delivered record. A run that delivers nothing costs nothing: blocked pages, challenges and retries are on us, and the $2 monthly allowance covers about 10,000 records before you spend anything.
Pay as you go
- $2 free credit / month
- 60 requests / min
- List unit prices
Starter
- $15 free credit / month
- 300 requests / min
- 10% off unit prices
Growth
- $50 free credit / month
- 600 requests / min
- 20% off unit prices
Scale
- $250 free credit / month
- 1,200 requests / min
- 30% off unit prices
Same wallet, same key and same $2 monthly allowance as every other Data API. Prices are launch pricing read live from the billing config — GET /v1/scraper/collectors returns the price your key actually pays.
Integration
One POST, typed rows
Base URL https://api.quanticdata.io/v1, Bearer auth, the same key as every other Data API. Endpoint: POST /v1/.
curl -X POST https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/dns_records/run \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $QD_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{}'
What people build with the DNS lookup API
Three shapes of work this endpoint was designed around.
Email-provider firmographics
MX values across a company list split it by mail stack — Google Workspace here, Microsoft 365 there — one row per record, ready to group.
SaaS-stack detection
TXT rows expose SPF includes and verification tokens, which read as a list of the vendors a domain has onboarded.
Hosting inventories
A and AAAA rows map a set of domains to the addresses serving them, TTLs included, for an infrastructure table refreshed on every sweep.
DNS lookup API versus rolling your own
The differences that actually cost time when you build this in-house.
| DIY scraper | This collector | |
|---|---|---|
| Answer format | dig output or zone text to parse | One row per record: owner, type, TTL, value |
| Transport | UDP resolvers and whatever sits in the path | DNS over HTTPS to a public resolver |
| Multiple types | One query per record type in a loop | Up to nine types fanned out in a single call |
Which DNS record types can I query?
Nine: A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA, CAA and SRV. Leave types empty and the first five resolve by default, which covers hosting, mail and delegation in one pass.
How do I read MX and TXT records for company enrichment?
Set types to MX and TXT: the MX values name the mail provider and the TXT values carry SPF and verification tokens, so a plain domain column grows provider and vendor signals from one call per domain.
Which resolver answers the queries?
Google's public DNS-over-HTTPS endpoint. Answers arrive as consistent JSON wherever you run, each row keeping the TTL the resolver reported, with no UDP resolver or middlebox in the path to garble them.
Is there a free DNS lookup API?
Every account gets $2 of credit every month with no card, which is about 10,000 delivered records on this endpoint at $0.0002 each. It renews monthly, and a run that delivers nothing is never billed — so a failed or blocked attempt does not eat the allowance.
How much does one run cost?
Multiply the rows you actually receive by $0.0002. A run capped at 100 records — the maximum for this collector — costs $0.02 if every row comes back, and less when the source has fewer. Volume tiers take up to 30% off, and GET /v1/scraper/collectors returns the price your key actually pays.
Run the DNS lookup API now
$2 of free credit every month, no card. Your key returns its own prices from GET /v1/scraper/collectors.