NextDNS vs Smart DNS Proxy
NextDNS
nextdns.ioSmart DNS Proxy
smartdnsproxy.comSide by side
| Figure | NextDNS | Smart DNS Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £1.79/mo | $4.61/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| 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 | 5 | 5 |
| Spec score · DNS Filtering Services | 9.0 (#6) | 7.8 (#21) |
| Spec score · DNS Filtering Software | 9.0 (#4) | 7.8 (#16) |
| Privacy policy | NextDNS says it does not sell, license, or share user-submitted data, discards DNS request and response data after replying, and logs data only when requested by the user or required for a feature. | The privacy policy says the company may collect personal information through website forms and referral or advertising campaign data, and uses personal information to provide services and manage account notices. |
| Support | The pricing page lists community support for Free and Pro, and email support for Business and Education. | The maker says support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and setup help is available through support or online chat. |
| What it does | NextDNS is a cloud DNS firewall that blocks security threats, ads and trackers and provides supervised internet controls across devices and networks. | Smart DNS Proxy provides a DNS proxy service to unblock websites and global video and music streaming services. |
Plans
NextDNS
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Pro£1.79 a month
- Business£17.90 a month
- Education£17.90 a month
Smart DNS Proxy
- Monthly$6.79 a month
- 3 Months$17.92 a month
- 12 Months$55.36 a year
- 24 Months$68.39 a year
- Life Time$200, paid once
In their own words
NextDNS
NextDNS filters internet traffic to block security threats, ads, and trackers, and offers controls for supervising children's access across devices and networks. Its listed threat protections include malware, phishing, cryptojacking, DNS rebinding, lookalike domains, typosquatting, domain generation algorithms, and newly registered domains. Parental controls include category blocking, SafeSearch, YouTube Restricted Mode, and blocks for specific sites, apps, and games, plus scheduled Recreation Time. DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS provide encrypted DNS connections. Users can disable logging or choose retention from one hour to two years and select storage in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, or Switzerland. The free plan costs nothing and includes 300,000 queries per month; after the limit, it continues answering as a non-blocking DNS service. Pro costs £1.79 a month. Business and Education each cost £17.90 a month, for every 50 employees or 250 students respectively. Free and Pro list community support; Business and Education list email support.
Smart DNS Proxy
Smart DNS Proxy is a DNS proxy service for accessing websites and global video and music streaming services. Customers configure devices to use the service's IP addresses so DNS queries pass through its DNS network. The maker names Netflix, Hulu, ABC, Pandora, and Spotify as examples of services accessible through it. Setup guidance covers computers, phones and tablets, televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, and routers for whole-network configuration. Smart DNS Proxy also provides VPN applications for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Its VPN server information lists OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP, PPTP, and Openconnect protocols. The pricing page offers a 14-day free trial and states that a 30-day money-back guarantee applies under its terms of use. Listed plans include $6.79 a month billed monthly, $17.92 a month billed every three months, $55.36 a year billed annually, $68.39 a year billed every 24 months, and 200.00 USD once for lifetime access. The maker says support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and identifies Smart DNS Proxy as a brand of C Telekom Inc.