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dnsmigrator

Amazon Route 53 Hetzner DNS

Migrate DNS from Route 53 to Hetzner.

13 record types move as they are. 4 things work differently at Hetzner, and the preview shows exactly which of your records they affect.

Free preview. Read-only. Nothing changes until you apply.

What works differently

Generated from the same provider capability data the migration engine uses.

Moves as-is

  • A
  • AAAA
  • CNAME
  • MX
  • TXT
  • NS
  • SRV
  • CAA
  • PTR
  • DS
  • HTTPS
  • SVCB
  • TLSA

Alias records are converted

Route 53 alias records become CNAMEs below the apex. At the apex they need static addresses, and the preview shows which ones.

Routing policies are flattened

Hetzner has no routing policies. Weighted, geo and latency sets collapse into one set of answers, and failover keeps only the primary. Each one is flagged for review.

TTLs below 60s are raised

Hetzner's minimum TTL is 60 seconds. Shorter TTLs are raised to 60s and shown as translated.

A typical Route 53 zone at Hetzner

Example records for example.com. Open any flagged row to read why it changed.

Route 53 Hetzner

  • UnsupportedA@

    Not migrated

    @ is an alias to d1a2b3.cloudfront.net at the zone apex. Hetzner doesn't support apex aliases or CNAMEs.

  • ExactMX@

    10 mx1.mail.example.net. +1

  • ExactTXT@

    "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.net -all"

  • ExactCAA@

    0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

  • ExactTXT_dmarc

    "v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com"

  • ExactSRV_sip._tls

    100 1 443 sip.example.net.

  • ReviewAapi

    192.0.2.10 +1

    Weighted routing isn't available at the destination. All 2 answers are served together as simple round-robin.

  • TranslatedTXTlegacy

    "v=spf1 -all"

    SPF record type is obsolete. Stored as TXT, which is what mail servers read.

  • ExactCNAMEwww

    example.com.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect Route 53

    Connect Route 53 with read-only access (Cross-account IAM role with an external ID).

  2. 2

    Connect Hetzner

    Connect Hetzner (Hetzner Cloud API token (per project)). Write access is only used when you apply.

  3. 3

    Review the preview

    Check every record marked Review or Unsupported. Each one explains what changes and why.

  4. 4

    Apply to Hetzner

    We snapshot the Hetzner zone, write in batches, and leave Route 53 untouched.

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query Hetzner's own nameservers for every record and compare the answers before you switch.

  6. 6

    Switch nameservers

    Lower TTLs a day or two ahead, remove any DS record if DNSSEC is on, then point the domain at the new nameservers at your registrar.

Good to know about Route 53

  • Alias records can only target AWS resources or records in the same hosted zone.
  • Weighted, latency, geolocation and failover routing are Route 53 features. Most other providers can't reproduce them.
  • Apex CNAMEs are not allowed. Use an alias record instead.

Access we need: route53:ListHostedZones, GetHostedZone, ListResourceRecordSets for the preview; ChangeResourceRecordSets and CreateHostedZone to apply.

Good to know about Hetzner

  • Uses the Hetzner Console (Cloud API) DNS. The old DNS Console at dns.hetzner.com and its API were shut down in May 2026.
  • The Cloud API has no DNSSEC signing, so turn DNSSEC off at the registrar before switching nameservers.
  • Only registrable domains can be zones. Subdomains such as dev.example.com can't be their own zone.

Access we need: A Read token for the preview; a Read & Write token to apply.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Route 53 to Hetzner?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to Hetzner and verified before you change nameservers, so resolvers get the same answer from either side while caches expire.

Do I have to delete anything at Route 53?

No. We never write to Route 53. Keep the old zone for a week after cutover so you can switch back instantly if anything looks wrong.

What about DNSSEC?

If DNSSEC is on, remove the DS record at your registrar and wait for it to expire before switching nameservers. Then enable DNSSEC at Hetzner and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.

Related migrations

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