Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Duck DNS

ddclient is a Perl client that keeps DNS records up to date when your public IP address changes. It supports a wide range of Dynamic DNS services and DNS provider APIs, and can run periodically or as a daemon to continuously refresh records.

Key Features

• Updates dynamic DNS entries for many DDNS services and DNS providers
• Multiple ways to detect external IP (web services or router status pages)
• Daemon mode for periodic checks, or integration with cron, PPP, and DHCP hooks
• Uses curl for network access (recommended and default in newer versions)
• Configuration via ddclient.conf with optional command-line overrides
• Supports environment-variable substitution in config for secrets (login/password)

Use Cases

• Keep a home server reachable via a domain name on a changing residential IP
• Automatically update DNS records for self-hosted services behind consumer ISPs
• Maintain IPv4/IPv6 address records for labs, small offices, or remote sites

Reliable and widely packaged across Unix-like systems, ddclient is a practical choice when you need automated DNS updates without running a full DNS stack. Its broad provider support and flexible IP detection make it suitable for many network environments.

DDNS Updater is a lightweight dynamic DNS client that periodically checks your public IP address and updates DNS A and/or AAAA records at many supported DNS providers. It can run as a small Docker/Kubernetes-friendly container or as standalone binaries, and includes a built-in web interface for configuration and status.

Key Features

• Updates A and AAAA records on a wide range of DNS providers
• Built-in web UI for managing settings and viewing status
• Runs as a minimal container image and as zero-dependency binaries
• Periodic IP checks with configurable intervals and multiple public IP “fetcher” methods
• Persists update history (e.g., last IP and change times) to a local JSON file
• Container healthcheck that verifies DNS resolution for configured domains
• Notification support via Shoutrrr-compatible endpoints

Use Cases

• Keep home server or homelab domains pointing to a changing residential IP
• Maintain IPv6 AAAA records for dual-stack self-hosted services
• Update multiple domains/providers from a single deployment (Docker or Kubernetes)

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires provider credentials/API tokens, and features depend on each provider’s API capabilities
• Persisting update history requires a writable data directory when running in a container

DDNS Updater is a practical choice when you need a simple, provider-agnostic DDNS solution with a web UI, flexible configuration, and container-first deployment options.