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Unbound vs dnsmasq: catalog facts
Unbound	dnsmasq
Free Free and open source under the BSD licence.	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
DNSSEC validation and encrypted transports in a small, audited resolver Runs recursively, so no upstream resolver sees your queries	DNS, DHCP and network boot from one tiny daemon Local hostname resolution for DHCP clients happens automatically
Configuration is a text file with many options No filtering or blocklists of its own; that needs another layer	Not a recursive resolver; it forwards to one Configuration syntax is terse
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: BSD-3-Clause	License: GPL-2.0
Not stated if an account is 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 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

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