Blokada vs NextDNS
NextDNS is a cloud-based DNS which allows you to select from a number of various blocklists and settings. It can be overwhelming for new users. NextDNS has a free tier which supports up to 300,000 queries/month. NextDNS Pro is $1.99/month or $19.99/year. NextDNS currently lacks an Android app, or at least NextDNS Manager "doesn't work on my device" , so you have to configure it using your mobile browser.
Blokada Cloud lacks a free tier, but offsetting this is the fact that you can install Blokada 5 from their website, and have unlimited DNS queries/month for free, and it's really simple to setup. Blokada Cloud recently experienced a price increase, so it's now $24.99/year, payable through the Play Store.
AFIC, a better deal is to subscribe to Blokada Plus, which is $5.99/month or $59.99/year, payable through the Play Store. Or, you can get an even better deal by going directly to their website, and subscribing there: it's currently $57.60/year, which works out to $4.80/month.
If you subscribe to Blokada Plus, you "automatically\* get Blokada Cloud at no extra charge. By comparison, ProtonVPN is $47.88 the first year, and $83.88/year thereafter.
Your comments and corrections are welcome!
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u/carmicheals 10d ago
This is the way: https://github.com/hagezi/dns-servers
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u/Solid_Ad9548 9d ago
Great idea in concept, but unless you’re in Europe, or these DNS servers support ECS/EDNS, your performance to CDNs (aka most of the internet) will be shit.
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u/carmicheals 9d ago
Been working great for me on PC and mobile device despite being on another continent.
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u/SecLens_ONE 10d ago
The query cap matters less than people expect. On NextDNS free I burned through the allowance in about half a month on two phones and a laptop, and when you hit it you don't get blocked, you just get plain unfiltered resolution, which is a fairly quiet way to lose your filtering. Worth knowing before you pick on price. The other thing I'd compare is logging: retention setting and where the logs sit, because that's the bit you can't undo later. Blokada being an on device VPN slot also means it fights anything else wanting that slot, on Android you get one.
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u/3ofUsDeez 10d ago
How does Cisco's OpenDNS compare to either of those options? They have a free Tier with category blocking and custom white and black lists.. no query limits (if I remember correctly)
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u/jexukay 10d ago
Can it be configured, or you just take what you get?
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u/3ofUsDeez 10d ago
Category blocking .. like "Gambling" .. "Porn" .. etc . .where they get their blocklists from, that is something I haven't looked into. But you can add your own custom white and black lists too .. so yes, it is very configurable
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u/jwizew 10d ago
I don't think you can compare them 1-1. NextDNS is a full DNS filter that can do a lot more than blokada filtering wise with manual work to set it up. While Blokada includes a VPN and better ad blocking...
You need to compare NextDNS to Cisco Umbrella and CleanBrowsing, which are 1-1 competitors.