A free SkipDNS alternative for previewing a site before you switch DNS
SkipDNS has been doing this since 2017 and it works well. It also costs between $9.9 and $159.9 a month, caps how many preview links you can keep, and deletes all of them if you ever stop paying. DNS Previewer does the same job for nothing, with no link cap and no subscription to forget about.
What SkipDNS charges for in 2026
SkipDNS used to keep link passwords and API access on its higher plans. That is no longer true, and we would rather correct our own page than leave a stale comparison sitting here. As of September 2026 all five plans include link passwords, the ability to switch a link on and off, and full API access. What separates the plans now is how many preview links you can hold at once and how long the free trial runs.
Hobbyist is $9.9 a month for 3 link slots and a 3 day trial. Developer is $19.9 for 10 slots, Agency is $39.9 for 30, Enterprise is $79.9 for 100, and Partner is $159.9 for 300. Paying for a year gets you two months free. No plan is permanently free.
One line in their FAQ matters more than the price for most people. When a plan expires, every link in the account is deleted. If you handed a client a preview link and your card fails three months later, that link stops working.
DNS Previewer and SkipDNS side by side
SkipDNS figures read directly from skipdns.link/pricing on 7 September 2026. Anything their pricing page does not state is left out here rather than guessed at. If something has changed, tell us and we will fix it.
Which one should you use
DNS Previewer suits you if
- You migrate sites now and then, and you do not want a monthly charge sitting there between jobs
- Three link slots is not enough, and $39.9 a month for thirty of them is more than the work is worth
- You have handed a client a preview link that needs to still work next year
- You would rather run it on your own server
SkipDNS suits you if
- You need an API. Theirs is on every plan and we do not have one yet, which is the clearest reason to pick them
- You want a service that has been running since 2017, with hosting providers vouching for it publicly
- You already pay for it and your workflow is settled
We are not pretending SkipDNS is a bad tool. It is a good one, and it created this category. We just think checking a site before you point DNS at it is basic plumbing, and basic plumbing should not carry a subscription.
If you are the only person who needs to see the new server, you may not need either tool. Editing your hosts file does the job on one machine, and we have written up where the hosts file falls short. For everything else to check before cutover, see the WordPress migration checklist.
Common questions about SkipDNS and the alternatives
How much does SkipDNS cost?
SkipDNS has five paid plans, billed monthly: Hobbyist at $9.9, Developer at $19.9, Agency at $39.9, Enterprise at $79.9 and Partner at $159.9. Paying yearly gives you two months free. The plans differ mainly in how many preview links you can hold at once, from 3 on Hobbyist to 300 on Partner. Prices checked on 7 September 2026.
Does SkipDNS have a free plan?
No. Every SkipDNS plan is paid. Each one starts with a free trial, lasting 3 days on Hobbyist, 10 days on Developer and 30 days on the Agency, Enterprise and Partner plans. Once the trial ends you need a subscription to keep using it.
Is there a free SkipDNS alternative?
Yes. DNS Previewer does the same job at no cost, with no cap on how many links you keep and no subscription to cancel. You give it a domain and the IP address of the new server, and it returns a preview link on a subdomain such as x7k3p.dnspreviewer.com that loads your site from the new server as though DNS had already changed. There is no card and no trial clock.
What happens to my SkipDNS links if I cancel?
SkipDNS deletes every link in your account when a plan expires. You keep access to the dashboard and can subscribe again, but the links themselves are gone. DNS Previewer links stay live because there is no subscription to lapse.
Does DNS Previewer have an API?
Not yet. SkipDNS includes full API access on all five of its plans, so if you need to create preview links from a script or a deployment pipeline, SkipDNS is the better fit today.
Can I self-host DNS Previewer?
Yes. The source is public on GitHub and the repository includes a deployment guide covering the server, DNS and the wildcard TLS certificate that preview subdomains need. SkipDNS is a hosted service only.
Try it on your next migration
Enter a domain and the new server IP, and you will have a working preview link in under a minute. No card, no trial countdown.