Alternatives to NextDNS
Cloud Pi-hole with per-device profiles
NextDNS ranks #4 of 6 in Network ad blockers, with an Alt Score of 85. It is proprietary, freemium from €1.99/month and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and Web. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Individuals and families who want ad, tracker, and malware blocking with parental controls across all their devices, as well as organizations needing centralized DNS-level protection and analytics for many devices.
A cloud DNS firewall that blocks ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains using real-time threat feeds. Parental controls filter adult, violent, and piracy content, enforce SafeSearch and YouTube Restricted Mode, and support time-based access limits. You get real-time query logs and analytics with configurable retention and data residency, plus unlimited custom profiles with your own allow/deny lists.
You point your devices, router, or network at NextDNS's encrypted DNS resolvers (DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS), which run on servers embedded in carrier networks worldwide for low latency. Each DNS query is filtered against your configured profile before resolving, blocking unwanted domains with no client-side software or added device overhead.
Why people leave NextDNS
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Network ad blockers checklist (13 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Network ad blockers checklist | NextDNS | AdGuard Home | Blocky | ControlD | Pi-hole | Technitium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| DNS-level blocking | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Blocklist management | ||||||
| Per-device policies | ||||||
| DoH / DoT support | ||||||
| Query logging & dashboard | ||||||
| Whitelisting UX | ||||||
| Parental controls | ||||||
| Open source |
Every fact and feature listed for NextDNS is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Freemium verified 2026-07-08
300,000 queries/month … When exceeding the free monthly quota, NextDNS will continue to answer DNS queries like a classic non-blocking DNS service.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Starts at €1.99/month verified 2026-07-08
€1.99/month … or €19.90/year
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web verified 2026-07-08
Natively supported on all major platforms — it only takes a few seconds to set up.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-08
Service proprietary; the CLI client is MIT.
MIT License … Copyright (c) 2019 NextDNS Inc.
https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/blob/master/LICENSE -
Status active verified 2026-07-08
Use the most popular ads & trackers blocklists — millions of domains all updated in real-time.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
DNS-level blocking Yes verified 2026-07-08
it's all done at the DNS level, not on your device.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Self-hostable No verified 2026-07-08
Hosted cloud service; no self-hosting.
Natively supported on all major platforms
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Blocklist management Yes verified 2026-07-08
Use the most popular ads & trackers blocklists — millions of domains all updated in real-time.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Per-device policies Yes verified 2026-07-08
Unlimited Configurations — Create as many different configurations as you want in your account — each with their own settings.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
DoH / DoT support Yes verified 2026-07-08
NextDNS supports all 4 protocols … DoT (DNS over TLS) … DoH (DNS over HTTPS)
https://help.nextdns.io/t/x2hmvas/what-is-nextdns -
Query logging & dashboard Yes verified 2026-07-08
See what's happening on your devices with in-depth analytics and real-time logs.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Whitelisting UX Yes verified 2026-07-08
Custom Denylist/Allowlist — Manually block or allow an unlimited amount of domains.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Parental controls Yes verified 2026-07-08
Parental Control — Protect your kids and control what they can access online, and when.
https://nextdns.io/pricing -
Open source Partial verified 2026-07-08
CLI client MIT; backend service proprietary.
MIT License … Copyright (c) 2019 NextDNS Inc.
https://github.com/nextdns/nextdns/blob/master/LICENSE
FAQ
Yes. AdGuard Home, Blocky and ControlD have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
AdGuard Home, Blocky and Pi-hole — every license claim links its source.