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DNS filtering · November 2026 Edition

DNSFilter vs NextDNS

Thirteen of fourteen models named DNSFilter first on the direct prompt; zero named NextDNS. Both were named by all fourteen models and DNSFilter carries 55 labels and NextDNS 36, so the shares are not directly comparable.

DNSFilter

endorsed leader

Named in one category this edition.

NextDNS

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

First-choice share52%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate5%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels5536A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, DNSFilter reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cloudflare Gateway was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. DNSFilter vs Cloudflare Gateway · DNSFilter vs Cisco Umbrella · DNSFilter vs Control D

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the DNS filtering page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
DNSFilterFirst choices, of fourteen modelsNextDNS
Direct130
Paraphrase80
Comparative521 against DNSFilter
Budget-constrained411 against NextDNS
Scale-constrained40
Negative022 against DNSFilter · 5 against NextDNS
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.

Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, DNSFilter and NextDNS were named in the same answer fifty-nine times, of the 172 answers naming DNSFilter and the 88 naming NextDNS. In those answers NextDNS took the first choice six times and DNSFilter twenty.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where DNSFilter and NextDNS stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.20
Mistral Small
DeepSeek V4 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick
Qwen 3.7 Flash
Kimi K2
GLM 4.7 FlashX
MiniMax M2.5
GPT-6 Luna
Muse Glimmer 30B
DNSFilter NextDNS first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, DNSFilter on the left and NextDNS on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where DNSFilter and NextDNS stood in it.

DNSFilter first, NextDNS not the choice

13 of 14 modelsNextDNS was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
GPT-5.4 miniCloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella
Gemini 3.5 FlashDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Cloudflare Gateway
Perplexity SonarDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, WebTitan
Grok 4.20DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
Mistral SmallDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway
DeepSeek V4 FlashDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
Llama 4 MaverickDNSFilter
Qwen 3.7 FlashCisco Umbrella, DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, FortiGuard
Kimi K2DNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway
GLM 4.7 FlashXDNSFilter alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D
MiniMax M2.5DNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Control D
GPT-6 LunaDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway
Muse Glimmer 30BDNSFilter alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway

Neither was named

1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice

Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.

By buyer segment

The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
DNSFilter leads by thirty-five points.
DNSFilter40%#1 of 9
NextDNS5%#4 of 9
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
DNSFilter leads by fifty points.
DNSFilter52%#1 of 11
NextDNS2%#4 of 11
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
DNSFilter leads by twenty-two points.
DNSFilter22%#2 of 10
NextDNS0%#– of 10
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about DNSFilter

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.

“The biggest warnings are around DNSFilter's agent reliability” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“reviews mention recurring complaints about support, pricing, misconfigurations, and occasional outages or false positives” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“I'd verify current packaging/features before choosing it.” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · soft negative
“DNSFilter: Very popular for mid-market. High-performance threat detection using AI/ML, easy to deploy, fast global network, excellent pricing transparency.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
“Best for: Companies seeking pure, high-performance DNS layer protection with straightforward pricing and excellent MSP/partner channel support.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“For most mid-sized B2B companies, I recommend starting with DNSFilter due to its purpose-built design for your size” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice

What the models said about NextDNS

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“if logging/analytics are left enabled the provider can retain query history, device identifiers and custom lists... a privacy risk for users who want no history” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“NextDNS and similar configurable services expose more policy controls; neither should be treated as a substitute for endpoint protection.” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“NextDNS and AdGuard Private DNS, for example, offer user-visible logs and settings to control logging or retention.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“For most privacy-conscious users, NextDNS or Mullvad DNS offer the best balance of customization, transparency, and security.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“Customizable filtering (ads, trackers, malware, adult content) with strong no-log policies, audits, and per-device configs.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · first choice
“If you can spend ~$20/month, NextDNS Business offers the best value with full features and unlimited devices.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared

Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.