NexDNS vs DNSmanager
Both speak the same ISPmanager API. The difference is where the DNS servers live – your hardware, or ours.
At a glance
NexDNS · DNSmanager- Deployment model
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SaaS (fully managed)Self-hosted on your server
- Setup time
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Sign up and connect in 2 minutesHours of OS install, panel install, firewall setup
- DNSSEC
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Automatic zone signing on Pro plans and aboveManual key generation and DS record management
- Pricing from
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6.90 €/mo (Pro plan)License fee + server + ops time
compare.dnsmanager.intro
Feature comparison
How NexDNS stacks up against DNSmanager across the dimensions that matter.
| Capability | NexDNS | DNSmanager |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment model | SaaS (fully managed) | Self-hosted on your server |
| Setup time | Sign up and connect in 2 minutes | Hours of OS install, panel install, firewall setup |
| Maintenance | Zero – updates, backups, monitoring handled by us | You patch OS, the DNS server, DNSmanager, handle incidents |
| DNSSEC | Automatic zone signing on Pro plans and above | Manual key generation and DS record management |
| API | REST API + full ISPmanager/DNSmanager XML API compatibility | ISPmanager XML API only |
| CLI tool | Official nexdns Go CLI with DNS-as-Code YAML support |
No first-party CLI |
| Terraform provider | Official Terraform provider on the Registry | No |
| ISPmanager compatibility | Full (advertised drop-in replacement) | Native |
| Record types | A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, TXT, SRV, NS, CAA, PTR, ALIAS, TLSA, DS | A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, TXT, NS, SRV, SPF, PTR |
| Pricing from | 6.90 €/mo (Pro plan) | License fee + server + ops time |
Choose NexDNS if…
- You run ISPmanager and want to stop maintaining a dedicated DNS server
- You want DNSSEC without manual key rotation
- You need automation via REST API, CLI, Terraform, or DNS-as-Code
- You need Let's Encrypt wildcard certificates via DNS-01 (Certbot plugin included)
- Redundant EU nameservers matter for your customers
Stay on DNSmanager if…
- You have strict on-premise data residency requirements that forbid external DNS
- Your infrastructure team already manages DNSmanager at scale and the ops overhead is amortized
- You cannot make outbound HTTP calls from ISPmanager to an external service
Migrating from DNSmanager
In ISPmanager, add NexDNS as a secondary DNS server using your integration login and secret from Account → Integrations. New zones sync automatically – no zone file export needed. For standalone migrations without ISPmanager, export BIND zone files from DNSmanager and import via nexdns zone import (CLI) or the panel’s BIND upload.
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Yes. The same XML endpoints (
domain.edit,record.edit,domain.delete, etc.) that ISPmanager calls on a self-hosted DNSmanager are implemented on NexDNS at/dnsmgr. ISPmanager cannot tell the difference – from its perspective it’s talking to DNSmanager. -
For ISPmanager-managed zones, no. ISPmanager will recreate zones on NexDNS automatically via the same API it was using with DNSmanager. Standalone zone files can be imported via BIND upload in the panel or via the
nexdns zone importCLI command. -
Nothing forced by us – you can keep it running in parallel for a transition period, then decommission when TTLs on the old NS records have expired globally. Some customers keep the old panel read-only as an audit log.
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Yes, on Pro plans and above. Point a NexDNS slave zone at your DNSmanager master, verify the zone is transferring correctly with propagation checks, then flip the NS records at your registrar. Zero downtime.
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Yes. NexDNS supports BIND zone export for every zone, so you can export back to a text file and re-import into DNSmanager or any other BIND-compatible DNS server at any time. No vendor lock-in.
Ready to replace DNSmanager?
Connect NexDNS to ISPmanager in 2 minutes – no zone export, no downtime.