---
title: Does using Vercel's Nameserver's lock you in?
description: Learn about how using Vercel's Nameservers doesn't lock you to anything.
url: /kb/guide/does-using-vercel-s-nameserver-s-lock-you-in
canonical_url: "https://vercel.com/kb/guide/does-using-vercel-s-nameserver-s-lock-you-in"
published: 2025-11-03
last_updated: 2025-11-10
authors: Allen Hai
related:
  - /docs/platform/projects
  - /docs/custom-domains
  - /docs/cli
install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin
---
<!-- docsgraph:related -->
## Related pages

> **For AI agents:** Follow these links to understand how this page connects to the rest of the Vercel ecosystem. For the full cross-link map (inbound, outbound, prerequisites, and semantic neighbors), see the .graph.md link below.

- [Working with Nameservers](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/working-with-nameservers?from=related) — Learn about nameservers and the benefits Vercel nameservers provide.
- [Managing DNS Records](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/managing-dns-records?from=related) — Learn how to add, verify, and remove DNS records for your domains on Vercel with this guide.
- [Working with DNS](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/working-with-dns?from=related) — Learn how DNS works in order to properly configure your domain.
- [Domains](https://vercel.com/docs/domains?from=related) — Learn the fundamentals of how domains, DNS, and nameservers work on Vercel.
- [Working with Domains](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/working-with-domains?from=related) — Learn how domains work and the options Vercel provides for managing them.
- [How do I change my Nameservers on Vercel?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-do-i-change-my-nameservers-on-vercel?from=related) — Learn about how to change Nameservers for domains registered with Vercel.
- [Why is my Vercel domain not verified?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/why-is-my-vercel-domain-unverified?from=related) — Information on why a Vercel domain may not be verified and how to verify it.
- [How can I manage my Vercel DNS records?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-to-manage-vercel-dns-records?from=related) — Add, edit, and delete Vercel DNS records from the dashboard, CLI, or REST API, and fix the Invalid Configuration error o
- [How do I point a subdomain to a service outside of Vercel?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/pointing-subdomains-to-external-services?from=related) — Information on how to make a subdomain available to a service outside of Vercel.
- [How do I add a custom domain to my Vercel project?](https://vercel.com/kb/guide/how-do-i-add-a-custom-domain-to-my-vercel-project?from=related) — Learn how to add a custom domain to your Vercel project.

Full cross-link map for this page: [/kb/guide/does-using-vercel-s-nameserver-s-lock-you-in.graph.md](/kb/guide/does-using-vercel-s-nameserver-s-lock-you-in.graph.md)
<!-- /docsgraph:related -->


Your domain is a precious asset for your projects and having the flexibility to use it with different services as needed is very desirable. While letting [Vercel](https://vercel.com/home) manage nameservers for your domain makes it easy to to work on [Projects](https://vercel.com/docs/platform/projects) that are hosted with Vercel, you might wonder if you're locked in to the platform in any way. Read on to learn why this is not the case.

## DNS Record Management

Even if your domain is using [Vercel's Nameservers](https://vercel.com/docs/custom-domains#vercel-nameservers), you have the full power to [add any DNS record](https://vercel.com/knowledge/how-to-manage-vercel-dns-records) needed for your domain. You can use the DNS Records UI in the dashboard, or you can use the [Vercel CLI](https://vercel.com/docs/cli#commands/dns) to add the necessary records.

Imagine that you have an API server hosted somewhere and you want to [add a subdomain](https://vercel.com/knowledge/pointing-subdomains-to-external-services) like `api.example.com` to point to that server. All you would need to do is add a `CNAME` record with a value of your server's IP address. There is no lock in when using Vercel's Nameservers.