Technitium DNS Server

A self-hosted DNS server that blocks ads network-wide, hosts your own zones, and encrypts upstream queries.

FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hosted
Official websitetechnitium.comSource codegithub.comDocumentationgithub.com

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About Technitium DNS Server

Technitium is both an authoritative and a recursive DNS server, which means it can host your own domain zones and also resolve everything else for your network. It blocks ads and malware at the DNS level for every device, includes a DHCP server, and has a web console that works out of the box with little or no configuration.

The privacy argument is the one the project leads with: normally your ISP sees every domain you look up, even over HTTPS, and some ISPs redirect, block or inject content into what you visit. Configuring DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-QUIC forwarders removes that visibility. Running locally also gives you logs and statistics about your own network, and caching makes sites load faster.

Compared with Pi-hole it does considerably more, which is either the appeal or the reason to pick something simpler.

Strengths

  • Authoritative and recursive in one server, so it hosts your zones and resolves everything else
  • Blocks ads and malware for every device on the network without per-device setup
  • DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-QUIC forwarders hide lookups from your ISP
  • Web console plus a built-in DHCP server, logs and statistics

Limitations

  • Considerably more complex than Pi-hole if all you want is ad blocking
  • Running your own DNS means DNS outages become your problem
  • Built on .NET, which is an extra runtime on some systems
  • Authoritative hosting on the public internet needs careful configuration

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source under the GPL.
License
GPL-3.0
Developer
Technitium
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
How it runs
Self-hosted, Downloadable app
Account
Not required
Works offline
Yes
Best suited for
Running your own DNS at home or in an office, with ad blocking and encrypted upstream queries
Categories
Network tools
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Network); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 3 sources on file.

Alternatives to Technitium DNS Server

Compare all

Software that can replace Technitium DNS Server for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • BIND 9

    Open-source DNS server software from ISC that also provides the dig command-line query tool.

    FreeOpen sourcemacOSLinuxSelf-hostedCommand line

    BIND 9 is an open-source DNS server from ISC under MPL-2.0 with DNSSEC and the dig tool, but it has no web console, no ad blocking, and a steeper configuration curve.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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