Alternatives to OpenDNS Home
A public DNS service from Cisco with phishing protection and optional content filtering for home networks. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
OpenDNS Home
A public DNS service from Cisco with phishing protection and optional content filtering for home networks.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as OpenDNS Home.
CleanBrowsing
A DNS filtering service that blocks malware, phishing and adult content at the network level.
CleanBrowsing is a freemium filtering service that blocks malware, phishing and adult content with enforced Safe Search, aimed at families and schools with no contracts.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1
Fast public DNS resolver with a filtered option for families.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 is a free resolver on Cloudflare's global network whose Families option adds content filtering, though its filtering options are limited.
Quad9
Free public DNS resolver that blocks known malicious domains.
Quad9 is a free Swiss non-profit resolver with a no-client-IP-logging policy that blocks malicious domains but offers no content filtering for parental controls.
NextDNS
Cloud DNS filtering with per-device profiles and detailed logs.
NextDNS adds granular blocklists, per-device profiles and detailed analytics with encrypted DNS on every platform, but its free tier is limited to a monthly query allowance.
Control D
Customisable DNS filtering service with per-device profiles.
Control D provides per-device profiles and granular per-service rules with encrypted DNS apps, though most useful features are behind a paid plan.
AdGuard DNS
Public filtering DNS resolver with encrypted transports.
AdGuard DNS is a freemium resolver with encrypted transports including DNS-over-QUIC and ad blocking, with custom rules and statistics requiring a paid account.
CIRA Canadian Shield
A free protective DNS service from Canada's domain registry that blocks malware, phishing and scams.
CIRA Canadian Shield is a free not-for-profit service blocking phishing, malware and scams with optional adult filtering, but it is built primarily for Canadian users.
DNS4EU
A free public DNS resolver hosted in the EU that blocks malware, phishing and ransomware domains.
DNS4EU is a free resolver run on EU infrastructure under EU rules, with variants at different filtering levels instead of a US company's resolver.
Also worth comparing
These listings name OpenDNS Home as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
NxFilter
A self-hosted DNS filter with per-user policies, reports and Active Directory integration.
OpenDNS Home is a free Cisco resolver offering content filtering and phishing protection set once at the router, without per-user policies or Active Directory support.
Safe Surfer
A parental-control DNS filtering service that blocks harmful content on phones, computers and home routers.
OpenDNS Home from Cisco offers free network-wide content filtering suited to parental controls, set once at the router with no subscription.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Pi-hole
A DNS server for your home network that refuses to look up ad and tracker domains, for every device at once.
AdGuard Home
Network-wide ad and tracker blocking in a single binary, with encrypted DNS built in rather than bolted on.
Stubby
Local DNS stub resolver that encrypts queries with DNS-over-TLS.
dnscrypt-proxy
Encrypts your DNS lookups so your internet provider cannot read or tamper with them, and blocks domains while it is there.
