How to: Route 53 Alternatives and Lock-In
-	Historically, AWS was slow to penetrate the DNS market (as it is often driven by perceived reliability and long-term vendor relationships) but Route 53 has matured and [is becoming the standard option](https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/dns/) for many companies. Route 53 is cheap by historic DNS standards, as it has a fairly large global network with geographic DNS and other formerly “premium” features. It’s convenient if you are already using AWS.
-	⛓Generally you don’t get locked into a DNS provider for simple use cases, but increasingly become tied in once you use specific features like geographic routing or Route 53’s alias records.
-	🚪Many alternative DNS providers exist, ranging from long-standing premium brands like [UltraDNS](https://www.neustar.biz/services/dns-services) and [Dyn](http://dyn.com/managed-dns/) to less well known, more modestly priced brands like [DNSMadeEasy](http://www.dnsmadeeasy.com/). Most DNS experts will tell you that the market is opaque enough that reliability and performance don’t really correlate well with price.
-	⏱Route 53 is usually somewhere in the middle of the pack on performance tests, e.g. the [SolveDNS reports](http://www.solvedns.com/dns-comparison/).

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