Compare software

dnslookup vs q: catalog facts
dnslookup	q
Best for: Testing encrypted DNS resolvers from the terminal	Best for: Testing DNS records and encrypted DNS resolvers from the terminal
Free Free to download and use.	Free Free and open source under GPL-3.0.
macOS, Linux, Command line	macOS, Linux, Command line
Supports DoH, DoT, DoQ and DNSCrypt in one tool Simple to point at any specific DNS server All 3 strengths for dnslookup Supports DoH, DoT, DoQ and DNSCrypt in one tool Simple to point at any specific DNS server Available via Homebrew, Snap and prebuilt binaries	Supports DoT, DoH, DoQ, ODoH and DNSCrypt Recursive AXFR and IP whois lookups All 3 strengths for q Supports DoT, DoH, DoQ, ODoH and DNSCrypt Recursive AXFR and IP whois lookups Packaged for Homebrew, apt, yum and the AUR
Command line only, no graphical interface Focused on single lookups rather than full DNS diagnostics	Output and flags differ from dig Command line only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for dnslookup github.com/ameshkov/dnslookup Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for q github.com/natesales/q Catalog checked September 23, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.