DNS Landscape in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has a well-developed internet infrastructure driven by Vision 2030 investments. Major ISPs include STC, Mobily, Zain, and Salam. The country has excellent connectivity through undersea cables in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. DNS peering has improved but ISP DNS can still be slow. Many Saudi users switch to public DNS for better speed and to access blocked content.
Cloudflare and Google both have good connectivity to Saudi ISPs. Cloudflare generally has a slight edge because of its Middle Eastern PoPs.
Performance Rankings for Saudi Arabia
Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) averages 8-14 ms from Riyadh. Google DNS (8.8.8.8) averages 10-18 ms. Quad9 (9.9.9.9) averages 18-28 ms. STC default DNS averages 15-22 ms. Mobily DNS averages 18-25 ms. Cloudflare leads in most Saudi locations.
Setup Guide for Saudi Users
On STC routers, access the admin panel and find DNS under WAN settings. Use Cloudflare (1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1). On Mobily routers, check Advanced Network settings. On Windows, change DNS in Network Settings.
FAQ
Which DNS is fastest in Saudi Arabia?
Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) averages 8-14 ms from Riyadh.
Is STC DNS good?
STC DNS works but Cloudflare is 7-10 ms faster.