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app·Phone, Internet & Utilities

NextDNS

Configurable DNS filtering on phones and laptops, free tier, no Pi required.

BUDGET FRIENDLYPRIVACY-FIRSTFAMILY-FRIENDLY

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

appPhone, Internet & UtilitiesSetup guide

Pi-hole

Network-wide ad and tracker blocking on your home router. No monthly DNS subscription.

FREEOPEN SOURCESELF-HOSTED

Replaces: NextDNS paid tiers, AdGuard Home cloud

Self-hosted
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appPhone, Internet & Utilities

Tailscale

WireGuard mesh VPN, access home NAS and PCs remotely without paying for legacy VPN SaaS.

BUDGET FRIENDLYPRIVACY-FIRSTFREE

Replaces: Paid remote access VPNs, Port-forwarding insecurity

appPhone, Internet & Utilities

Proton VPN

VPN from Proton with a usable free tier, paid plans optional, no bandwidth tricks.

FREEPRIVACY-FIRSTBUDGET FRIENDLY

Replaces: Shady free VPNs, Nord/Express annual auto-renew stacks

appPhone, Internet & Utilities

AdGuard Home

Self-hosted network DNS ad blocker. Pi-hole alternative from a long-standing vendor.

FREEOPEN SOURCESELF-HOSTED

Replaces: NextDNS Pro, Per-device ad block subscriptions

Open source
View find →