NextDNS
Configurable DNS filtering on phones and laptops, free tier, no Pi required.
Quick facts
- Price model
- Freemium
- Starting price
- Free tier; Pro ~$20/year
- Best for
- Phone ad blocking · Kids' device filtering · Travel DNS protection
- Replaces
- Pi-hole when away from home, Paid DNS security apps
- Platforms
- iOSAndroidMacWindowsLinux
- Last verified
- 2026-06-22
Why it's listed
Annual Pro pricing beats monthly security app stacks, and works off your home network.
NextDNS blocks ads, trackers, and malware at the DNS level with per-device profiles. Free tier covers typical household usage. Lighter lift than Pi-hole when you want protection on cellular and travel, not just home Wi‑Fi.
The catch
Query limits on free tier; aggressive lists can break apps until allowlisted.
Good fit for
- Families without a homelab
- Pi-hole users wanting mobile parity
Not ideal for
- People wanting 100% self-hosted DNS only
Alternatives
Pi-hole
Network-wide ad and tracker blocking on your home router. No monthly DNS subscription.
Replaces: NextDNS paid tiers, AdGuard Home cloud…
Tailscale
WireGuard mesh VPN, access home NAS and PCs remotely without paying for legacy VPN SaaS.
Replaces: Paid remote access VPNs, Port-forwarding insecurity
Proton VPN
VPN from Proton with a usable free tier, paid plans optional, no bandwidth tricks.
Replaces: Shady free VPNs, Nord/Express annual auto-renew stacks
AdGuard Home
Self-hosted network DNS ad blocker. Pi-hole alternative from a long-standing vendor.
Replaces: NextDNS Pro, Per-device ad block subscriptions