What is this page for?

Compare text-based DNS policy records with alias records used for hostnames.

What should I check next?

Use the related tools, comparisons, and guides linked on this page to continue the workflow.

TXT records and CNAME records are both common in DNS, but they serve very different purposes.

TXT records usually carry policy, verification, or descriptive values, while CNAME records point one hostname at another hostname.

TXT records commonly publish SPF, site verification values, DMARC policy, DKIM keys, and other text-based metadata.

CNAME records alias one hostname to another hostname instead of directly returning an IP address.

People sometimes confuse verification TXT records with hostname-routing records, which can lead to broken DNS changes.

Use TXT when publishing text-based policy or verification values. Use CNAME when one hostname should follow another hostname.

TXT Lookup Inspect policy and verification values. CNAME Lookup Check alias targets and hostname behavior. DNS Lookup See wider DNS context around both records. NS Lookup Validate authoritative hosting when records look inconsistent.

A Record vs CNAME Compare direct IP mapping with hostname aliases. MX Record vs TXT Record Separate routing records from text-based policy records. CNAME vs HTTP Redirect Separate DNS aliasing from redirect behavior.

Jump into broader editorial collections built around comparisons and real-world workflows.

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