NextDNS VS OpenDNS

Compare NextDNS VS OpenDNS and see what are their differences

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NextDNS

Block ads, trackers and malicious websites on all your devices.

OpenDNS

OpenDNS provides faster and safer Internet access for your home or Business.

Landing page //
2021-09-26

Landing page //
2023-09-22

NextDNS

Website: nextdns.io
Pricing URL: Official NextDNS Pricing
$ Details

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OpenDNS

Website: opendns.com
Pricing URL: -
$ Details: -

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NextDNS features and specs

Privacy Protection
NextDNS prevents trackers, malicious websites, and ads from reaching your devices, ensuring better privacy and security online.
Customization
NextDNS offers extensive customization options, allowing users to configure the DNS filtering rules to suit their specific needs, including custom blocklists and allowlists.
Performance Insights
Provides detailed analytics and logs, helping users monitor DNS queries, block rates, and other performance metrics.
Multiple Devices
Can be used across various devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and more.
Parental Controls
Includes parental control features to block adult content, social media, and gaming sites, making the internet safer for children.

Possible disadvantages of NextDNS

Cost
While there is a free tier, accessing full features and unlimited queries requires a paid subscription, which might be a downside for budget-conscious users.
Learning Curve
The extensive customizability may pose a learning curve for users who are not tech-savvy, requiring some technical understanding to optimize settings effectively.
Reliance on Cloud
NextDNS operates through cloud-based servers, which means users must rely on their internet connection and NextDNS's server uptime for uninterrupted protection and performance.
Data Retention Concerns
Even though privacy is a key feature, some users might still have concerns about data retention and the logging of DNS queries.
Potential for Overblocking
Aggressive filtering can sometimes block legitimate websites or services, requiring users to manually adjust settings or whitelist certain domains.

OpenDNS features and specs

Improved Security
OpenDNS offers robust protection against phishing attacks, malware, and botnets by blocking access to known malicious domains.
Enhanced Control
Users get granular control over website access, enabling custom filtering to block inappropriate or unsafe sites, which is especially useful for parents and schools.
Faster DNS Resolution
OpenDNS aims to provide faster domain name resolution, potentially reducing the time it takes to load websites compared to using ISPs' DNS services.
DNS Uptime
With globally distributed servers, OpenDNS ensures high availability and reliability, minimizing the risk of DNS outages.
Detailed Analytics
OpenDNS provides insightful web usage statistics and reports that can help identify trends and potential security threats.
Device Compatibility
It is compatible with multiple platforms and devices, making it easy to configure on routers, computers, and mobile devices.
Ease of Use
The service is straightforward to set up, often requiring only a simple change in DNS settings on your device or router.

Possible disadvantages of OpenDNS

Privacy Concerns
By using OpenDNS, users are subject to its terms of service and privacy policy, which may involve data logging and sharing with third parties.
Limited Free Features
The free version of OpenDNS has limited features compared to the premium offerings, which may not be sufficient for all users.
Potential Circumvention
Tech-savvy users or devices can potentially circumvent OpenDNS filtering by manually changing DNS settings to another provider.
Dependency on Third-Party Service
Relying on an external DNS service introduces an additional point of dependency, which could be problematic if the service experiences outages or disruptions.
Geographic Performance Variations
Performance improvements in DNS resolution speed may vary based on geographic location due to the proximity of OpenDNS servers.
Complex Configuration for Advanced Features
Utilizing some of the advanced features, like custom filtering and detailed analytics, may require a more complex configuration that could be challenging for non-technical users.
Limited control on Pure DNS Services
Since OpenDNS modifies DNS requests for security and filtering purposes, users needing pure DNS services without any changes may find it restrictive.

NextDNS videos

+ Add

How To Set NextDNS on Your PC

OpenDNS videos

+ Add

OpenDNS - #2 - OpenDNS Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to NextDNS and OpenDNS)

OpenDNS

Security & Privacy

84 84%

Security & Privacy

16% 16

Ad Blockers

90 90%

Ad Blockers

10% 10

DNS

76 76%

DNS

24% 24

DNS Tools

0 0%

DNS Tools

100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using NextDNS and OpenDNS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare NextDNS and OpenDNS

NextDNS app intuitively encrypts all DNS queries on all networks and manages settings from your cell phones and tablets. NextDNS brings next-level protection from almost all kinds of security threats while blocking ads and trackers on applications as well as websites. This significant tool brings safe and supervised internet for kids on almost all networks and devices.

Source: www.justalternativeto.com

Free Privacy App for Any Device.

The other option is to host your own PiHole. NextDNS’s service is modelled on PiHole, and openly admit this in their FAQ. I personally host my own PiHole on a RaspberryPi 3b+ and have my traffic in my apartment routed through this. I trust NextDNS to protect me while I am on my mobile data, or in a coffee shop, but at home, I enjoy knowing that I have 100% control over my...

Source: medium.com

OpenDNS Reviews

Best Free Firewalls for Windows, Mac & Android in 2024

Note that OpenDNS Home works best alongside Windows’ built-in firewall. Since it’s not a complete firewall software, you’ll need another firewall to properly monitor incoming and outgoing traffic to help block network intrusions. All things considered, though, OpenDNS Home is a great free solution to improve online safety.

Source: www.wizcase.com

Best DNS servers of 2022: Boost your internet speed with these free, public services

Google's support site offers only very basic guidance targeted at experienced users, warning that "only users who are proficient with configuring operating system settings [should] make these changes." If you're unsure what you're doing, check the tutorials from a provider such as OpenDNS, remembering to replace its nameservers with Google's: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.

Source: www.techradar.com

Best DNS Servers to Use for Free in 2022

Again, for users concerned about their children’s Internet safety, OpenDNS offers a service called OpenDNS FamilyShield that blocks adult content (available at the servers 208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123).

Source: jv16powertools.com

Best free DNS servers: 14 options to check out

Owned by Cisco, OpenDNS has two free options: Family Shield and Home. Family Shield is good for parents who want to make sure their kids can’t access inappropriate content. Home focuses on internet safety and performance.

Source: www.allconnect.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, NextDNS seems to be a lot more popular than OpenDNS. While we know about 509 links to NextDNS, we've tracked only 11 mentions of OpenDNS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

NextDNS mentions (509)

uBlock Origin is no longer available on the Chrome Store
uBlock Origin still works in Firefox. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ And you can, I believe, still just modify your hosts table to block out ads in Chrome. https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts Or your router's DNS using something like NextDNS. https://nextdns.io/ Ads suck. Support content where you can, but even when you pay they still serve ads / tracking scripts. So fuck 'em. Block... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
Hack your DNS for better focus
I've used NextDNS for years to keep our home internet safe for the kids and it works really well. Fortunately NextDNS offers API access that you can use to automate turning different internet filters on and off. Unfortunately their API docs are horrible. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other extensions in Edge
I think that we'll need to adopt network-level filtering if we want to outsmart the browsers. I haven't looked back since adopting NextDNS and configuring my router to filter all traffic through it. It does a great job of stripping ads out of all my devices connected to it, and that's something I don't mind paying a few bucks for a year (I think it's like $19/year). Check it out here: https://nextdns.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
Pihole v6
One of the most values I get out of a SaaS service is NextDNS [0]. There are competitors like ControlD [1] that are also very good. At the end of the day they both check all the boxes for me. But, the piece that really got me with NextDNS when I started using it was the unlimited number of profiles. This allows me to target any device, no matter where it is (this is fantastic for mobile devices) and keep my... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
Pihole v6
Want to highlight https://nextdns.io/ as a similar service, very happy with it. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago

OpenDNS mentions (11)

Multiple DDNS configs?
I've been using the DDNS option in the UI to sync with no-ip.com, so that I can remotely access my NAS via Wireguard, and this works great. However, my new router no longer supports DDNS without subscription. I need another DDNS client to sync with opendns.com, to get content filtering and parental controls, as my new router has no options for this. Source: almost 2 years ago
Evaluating DNSfilter
We have used opendns.com for this for years. Might take a look at them. Source: about 2 years ago
What does this error message mean? How/where do I change the URL?
Can you visit opendns.com on your home network? The problem likely that site is getting blocked, and can't use the API to get the public IP of your box. Source: over 2 years ago
Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to calyxos.org
This might be an issue with my DNS provider. I use opendns.com to filter my DNS queries. They're giving the following reasons for blocking the site... Source: over 2 years ago
Wi-Fi web filtering
If all users need the same level of filtering, opendns.com is free and works great. You need a way to forward DNS requests to the Open DNS server, such as a typical Windows DNS. Source: about 3 years ago