Alternatives to Rethink DNS + Firewall
Control Android network connections with Rethink's local firewall. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Rethink DNS + Firewall
Control Android network connections with Rethink's local firewall.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Rethink DNS + Firewall.
Rethink DNS
Android firewall and encrypted DNS client with per-app rules.
Rethink DNS offers the same firewall, encrypted DNS, blocklists and WireGuard support under Apache-2.0, adding per-app rules and detailed logs.
TrackerControl
Monitor and restrict Android application tracking connections.
TrackerControl is GPL-3.0 and focuses on monitoring and restricting app tracking connections, without the WireGuard support of Rethink DNS + Firewall.
AdAway
System-wide Android ad blocker using hosts files or a local VPN.
AdAway blocks ads system-wide using hosts files with root or a local VPN without it, but lacks connection monitoring and WireGuard, and comes from F-Droid.
Blokada
Mobile ad blocker with a local filter and an optional VPN tier.
Blokada also runs on iOS and filters locally for free, offering a paid tier with VPN and cloud filtering instead of a firewall and WireGuard.
personalDNSfilter
Lightweight Java DNS filter proxy that blocks ad and malware domains on Android and desktops.
personalDNSfilter blocks ad and malware domains on Android with or without the VPN slot and supports DoH and DoT, but it has no connection firewall.
AdGuard Ad Blocker
System-wide ad and tracker blocker apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS with DNS filtering.
AdGuard Ad Blocker is a freemium, closed-source app for Android, iOS, Windows and macOS that blocks ads and trackers across apps with phishing protection.
DNSNet
An Android app that filters DNS requests through a local VPN to block ad and tracker domains.
DNSNet is a closed-source Android app filtering ad and tracker domains through a local VPN with host blocklists, without firewall or WireGuard features.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Rethink DNS + Firewall as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Intra
An Android app from Jigsaw that encrypts DNS lookups to get around DNS manipulation and blocking.
Rethink DNS + Firewall combines DNS filtering, connection monitoring and WireGuard support on Android, using the VPN mechanism like Intra.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
NextDNS
Cloud DNS filtering with per-device profiles and detailed logs.
AdGuard DNS
Public filtering DNS resolver with encrypted transports.
dnscrypt-proxy
Encrypts your DNS lookups so your internet provider cannot read or tamper with them, and blocks domains while it is there.
Control D
Customisable DNS filtering service with per-device profiles.
