Compare software

q vs BIND 9: catalog facts
q	BIND 9
Best for: Testing DNS records and encrypted DNS resolvers from the terminal	Best for: Administrators querying and debugging DNS or running their own DNS server
Free Free and open source under GPL-3.0.	Free Free and open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.
macOS, Linux, Command line	macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Command line
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	dig is a standard tool for DNS troubleshooting Full-featured DNS server with DNSSEC All 3 strengths for BIND 9 dig is a standard tool for DNS troubleshooting Full-featured DNS server with DNSSEC Open source and actively maintained by ISC
Output and flags differ from dig Command line only	dig comes as part of the larger BIND package Server configuration has a steep learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: MPL-2.0
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 q github.com/natesales/q Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for BIND 9 gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/bind9 Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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