How long does DNS propagation take?

Propagation time depends primarily on TTL settings:

Low TTL (300 seconds): Changes propagate within 5-30 minutes for most users.

Standard TTL (3600 seconds): Most propagation within 1-4 hours.

High TTL (86400 seconds): Can take 24-48 hours for full propagation.

In practice, propagation is not instant but not as slow as worst-case estimates. Most changes are visible within a few hours.

Before major changes, lower your TTL temporarily. After changes are confirmed, raise it again for better caching efficiency.

Short refresh cycles mean faster updates. Long cycles mean slower updates but less network traffic.