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dnsdist vs HAProxy: catalog facts
dnsdist	HAProxy
Free Free to download and run.	Free HAProxy Community Edition is free and open source. HAProxy Enterprise is a paid product.
Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Load balancing across multiple DNS backends Rule-based filtering, rewriting and blocking of queries	Handles extremely high connection rates with predictable latency Detailed health checking, queuing and rate limiting built in
Aimed at operators and needs DNS knowledge to configure Does not resolve queries itself; needs backend servers	Configuration is its own language with a steep learning curve No native automatic certificate issuance; ACME is handled alongside it
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.