CIRA Canadian Shield vs DNSFilter
CIRA Canadian Shield
cira.caDNSFilter
dnsfilter.comSide by side
| Figure | CIRA Canadian Shield | DNSFilter |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $1/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 3 |
| Spec score · DNS Filtering Services | 6.4 (#38) | 9.0 (#5) |
| Spec score · Internet Filtering Software | 6.5 (#57) | 9.1 (#4) |
| Founded | 1998 | DNSFilter says it was founded in October 2015 by Ken Carnesi and Brian Gillis. |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | The company lists Washington, District of Columbia as headquarters. |
Plans
In their own words
CIRA Canadian Shield
CIRA Canadian Shield has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
DNSFilter
DNSFilter provides protective DNS and content filtering for organizations managing threats and workplace internet use. It categorizes billions of domains with Webshrinker machine-learning categorization, while AppAware can block more than 100 risky applications. DNSFilter says its real-time threat categorization can identify threats 10 days faster than other threat feeds. Deployments include network configuration, a DNS relay, and roaming clients for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Chrome. Listed controls include DNS encryption such as DNS-over-TLS, custom blocklists, safe search, filtering schedules, and advanced activity reports. Active Directory Sync Tool supports up to 500,000 users and applies policies by user or group. Integrations include Microsoft Entra, Active Directory, Zapier, API access, and an MCP Connector. Data Export supports Amazon S3 and Splunk, with Microsoft Sentinel also named. API access is included in all plans, with rate limits but no overall usage cap. Pricing starts at $1/mo (annual), with a 14-day trial and no free plan.