A SkipDNS alternative with migration QA built in
SkipDNS has been around since 2016 and does one thing well: a preview link to your site on a new server. DNSPeek gives you the same kind of link for free, then helps you check the migration before DNS moves: QA crawls, live and visual compares with the live site, and an alert when DNS has switched.
DNSPeek and SkipDNS side by side
What each service offers, from its own public pages.
| Feature | DNSPeek | SkipDNS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan; paid plans from $9 a month | $9.90 to $159.90 a month for 3 to 300 links; Visa or Mastercard through Stripe, not prorated |
| Free tier | Unlimited preview links (each lasts 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days), 1 QA report and 3 live compare sessions a month | Guest links only: 5 minutes or 100 clicks |
| Account needed | Not for your first link: a guest link lasts up to 7 days (one at a time). A free account for more | Not for a guest link; plans need an account |
| Link lifetime | 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days on Free; no expiry, or a date you set, on Pro and up | As long as your plan is active; guest links 5 minutes |
| When you stop paying | Nothing is deleted. The workspace moves to Free: existing links keep working until their own expiry date (if they have one). New links last 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days. Paid features pause until you upgrade again. | “All links in your account will be deleted” when the plan expires |
| Password protection | Yes, on every plan | Yes |
| Wildcard / multisite | Yes, on Pro and up: one link also previews every subdomain (shop---alias); one hostname per link on Free | Yes (wildcard / multisite option) |
| API | REST API v1 on Pro and up | Yes, REST API |
| Hosting panel plugins | Not yet | cPanel plugin |
| Live side-by-side compare | Yes: 3 sessions a month on Free, unlimited on Pro and up | No |
| Visual diff with the live site | Yes, on Pro and up | No |
| Migration QA report | Yes: 1 a month on Free, more on paid plans | No |
| DNS propagation alerts | Yes, on Pro and up; one-off DNS checks on every plan | No |
| Teams | Workspaces with seats: from Agency, up to 25 seats on Provider | Spaces to organise links; team seats not stated |
| Previews kept out of search | Yes: every preview response says noindex, nofollow | Not stated on their site |
| Interface languages | 8 languages: English, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Spanish, Polish, French, Brazilian Portuguese | Not stated on their site |
| Origin without SSL | Yes: HTTP only mode connects to your server over plain HTTP while visitors still get HTTPS | Flexible SSL |
Checked on skipdns.link and DNSPeek’s pricing page. Services change: check their site for the latest. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Where SkipDNS is ahead
A cPanel plugin
Hosting customers can create a SkipDNS link from inside cPanel. DNSPeek has no hosting panel plugins yet.
A long track record
SkipDNS has run since 2016, and its site shows testimonials from people in hosting. DNSPeek is newer.
When DNSPeek fits better
Read what previews can’t do on the limitations page, and how we handle your data on the trust page.
You want to start free
DNSPeek’s free plan has unlimited preview links that last 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days, not a 5-minute guest link. You pay for the work around the links, not for link slots.
You want to keep your links if you stop paying
Nothing is deleted. The workspace moves to Free: existing links keep working until their own expiry date (if they have one). New links last 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days. Paid features pause until you upgrade again.
You check migrations, not just preview them
Run a QA crawl for broken pages, mixed content and hard-coded URLs, compare the new server with the live site side by side or pixel by pixel, and get an alert when DNS has switched.
Try it on your site
Your domain and the new server’s IP. The link works on any device, for anyone you send it to.
Questions, answered
More in the docs FAQ.
Is DNSPeek a free SkipDNS alternative?
Yes. Unlimited preview links (each lasts 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days), 1 QA report and 3 live compare sessions a month on the free plan. Free plan; paid plans from $9 a month.
What happens to my DNSPeek links if I cancel a paid plan?
Nothing is deleted. The workspace moves to Free: existing links keep working until their own expiry date (if they have one). New links last 7 days from the last visit, up to 30 days. Paid features pause until you upgrade again.
Does DNSPeek have a cPanel plugin like SkipDNS?
Not yet. Today you create links in the dashboard, with the REST API or with CSV import on paid plans.
Can I preview a WordPress multisite with DNSPeek?
Yes. On Pro and up, turn on Include subdomains and one link previews the main domain and every subdomain: shop.example.com opens at shop---<alias> on the preview domain, and links between the subdomains stay inside the preview. On Free, create a link for each hostname.