Alternatives to Safe Surfer
A parental-control DNS filtering service that blocks harmful content on phones, computers and home routers. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Safe Surfer
A parental-control DNS filtering service that blocks harmful content on phones, computers and home routers.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Safe Surfer.
CleanBrowsing
A DNS filtering service that blocks malware, phishing and adult content at the network level.
CleanBrowsing is a freemium DNS service blocking adult content with enforced Safe Search, but it lacks screen time schedules and mobile apps.
OpenDNS Home
A public DNS service from Cisco with phishing protection and optional content filtering for home networks.
OpenDNS Home from Cisco offers free network-wide content filtering suited to parental controls, set once at the router with no subscription.
NextDNS
Cloud DNS filtering with per-device profiles and detailed logs.
NextDNS provides per-device profiles, granular blocklists and detailed logs on every major platform, with a free tier limited by monthly queries.
Control D
Customisable DNS filtering service with per-device profiles.
Control D offers per-device profiles and granular per-service rules with apps for all major platforms, with most useful features on a paid plan.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1
Fast public DNS resolver with a filtered option for families.
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 for Families adds free content filtering without software, though its filtering options are more limited than dedicated services.
CIRA Canadian Shield
A free protective DNS service from Canada's domain registry that blocks malware, phishing and scams.
CIRA Canadian Shield is free, run by a Canadian not-for-profit, and offers optional adult content filtering, but has no screen time controls.
AdGuard DNS
Public filtering DNS resolver with encrypted transports.
AdGuard DNS is a freemium filtering resolver usable through Android Private DNS without an app, with custom rules requiring a paid account.
NxFilter
A self-hosted DNS filter with per-user policies, reports and Active Directory integration.
NxFilter is a free self-hosted filter with per-user policies, screen time control and reports, requiring your own server and more setup.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
DNS4EU
A free public DNS resolver hosted in the EU that blocks malware, phishing and ransomware domains.
Quad9
Free public DNS resolver that blocks known malicious domains.
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.
