Updated October 13, 2026 · ShieldCue Editorial Team

Top ad blockers and private DNS compared

63 providers, ranked on the terms we checked.

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Top ad blockers and private DNS compared
#	Provider	Score	Features	Key facts	Actions
51	AdBlocker Ultimate	8.9/10	Free	Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: Free browser extension; paid app for system-wide blocking Platforms: Windows, MacOS, Android, and 6 more	Review Compare See alternatives
52	Steganos	8.9/10	No logs Streaming Travel Free	Price from: $29.99 Free plan: No Free plan limits: LockNote and web proxy only	Review Compare See alternatives
53	Mozilla Corporation Save 50% on Mozilla VPN: 50% off	8.8/10	No logs Streaming Travel Business Free	Price from: €9.99 Free plan: Yes Platforms: Windows, MacOS, iOS, and 2 more	Review Compare See alternatives
54	Brave Software, Inc. Brave Firewall + VPN 7-day free trial: 7 days free	8.7/10	No logs Streaming Travel Free	Price from: $3 Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: Browser, ad-blocker, Search and Talk free; free Leo with limited access	Review Compare See alternatives
55	Kagi Inc. Kagi Trial plan: 100 free searches	8.7/10	Business Free	Price from: $5 Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: 100 total searches and 100 AI interactions	Review Compare See alternatives
56	MenaVPN Huge 85% OFF - Limited Time Only: 85% off	8.6/10	No logs Streaming Business Budget	Price from: AED 39.99 Free plan: No Platforms: iOS, Android, MacOS, and 2 more	Review Compare See alternatives
57	Electronic Frontier Foundation	Not rated		Platforms: Browser Jurisdiction: US Open source: Yes	Review Compare See alternatives
58	Adguard Software Limited 30-day free trial of AdGuard DNS Enterprise: 30 days	Not rated	Business Free	Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: Free Starter plan by default; public AdGuard DNS servers usable free without account Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, and 3 more	Review Compare See alternatives
59	Electronic Frontier Foundation	Not rated	Free	Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: No usage limits and no paid tiers; free for all users, funded by donations Platforms: Chrome, Chrome on Android via Chrome Web Store, Firefox, and 5 more	Review Compare See alternatives
59	Ghostery GmbH	Not rated	Business Free	Free plan: Yes Free plan limits: All features free with no limitations; optional contributions support development Platforms: Chrome, Safari, Opera, and 3 more	Review Compare See alternatives

About Top ad blockers and private DNS compared

Ad blockers and private DNS resolvers overlap more than the marketing suggests, and the trade-off in this category is simple: how much of the bill you avoid and what you hand over for it. This ranking covers 60 brands, from free browser tools to paid resolvers and VPN bundles. Entry prices in this category run €1.75 to €15, monthly charges sit at €7.02 in the middle, and long-term terms average €4.28. A free plan shows up on 70.2% of the field, so paying is a choice rather than a requirement. What that money buys differs: 80% of these brands count as ad blockers, 40% as private DNS, and others sell a browser, a search engine or a VPN that happens to block. Renewal pricing is where the gap widens, so read the plan name next to every figure below.

How we picked

Three things decide each position. Cost is the heaviest weight at 40%, the offer takes 40%, and trust carries 20%. Cost covers both numbers a reader feels, the rate met at entry and the rate a plan renews at, so a cheap introductory period with a heavy renewal ranks below a steady mid-range price. The offer weight rewards a free plan that does real filtering, blocking that reaches past a single app, and support that can be reached quickly, with a help centre counted apart from chat and phone. Trust weighs the legal entity, the jurisdiction it answers to, the logging policy, and open code where it exists. Facts come from each brand's own pricing page, terms, privacy policy, support pages and app listing. Partners that serve your country are listed first in this ranking, then the rest by score. A fact that is not listed is never treated as a fault, so a gap in coverage does not sink a good price.

How we rank

Our top picks

5. Kaspersky
Kaspersky earns a place in this ranking as a free-first bundle, with a free plan and a model that is simply free, offering ad blocking and browser protection through ad blocker and browser. It runs on Windows, macOS and Android and uses WireGuard, so device coverage is narrower than the DNS-first members higher up. Support is the thinnest in the list, working through help centre and community with no email or live chat, and the logging claim is softer than the rest of the field: the company states that your online actions are not logged, and it operates as AO Kaspersky Lab from CH. Proton AG, the next member, logs no activity and publishes its code.
- Devices: 10
- Server countries: 93
- Money-back period: 30 days
Pros
- Kaspersky Premium bundles the VPN, password manager and parental controls (vpn, password manager and parental controls) in one subscription a family plan can share
- Device and platform coverage is generous: 10 devices at once, with apps for Windows, macOS and Android on desktop and mobile
- Streaming and travel are stated features, with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ supported and kill switch and split tunnelling built in as standard
Cons
- Support runs on help centre and community only, so quick answers go through documentation or the community rather than live chat
- The protocol list is WireGuard, so readers who want a wider choice of protocols have less room to compare
- The free version that Kaspersky lists sits with antivirus rather than a free VPN, so VPN features start on a paid subscription
6. Surfshark
Surfshark joins this ranking for breadth, since its ad blocking comes bundled with private dns, ad blocker and search, so the same subscription can block ads, filter search tracking and run a private resolver. Apps reach Windows, macOS and Linux, including smart TVs and routers, and the protocol list is WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2, with RAM-only servers and a no-logs policy verified by Deloitte. Budget pricing keeps it in reach, though this ranking lists no free plan for it, only 7-day free trial, 3 devices to try. Brave Search, next in this ranking, takes the opposite approach, giving the browser, the ad blocker and search away and charging $3 for the paid tier.
- Monthly price: €2.49
- Long-term plan price: €2.49
- Server countries: 100
Pros
- Servers in 100 countries, ranking 7 on coverage among 62 brands compared.
- The no-logs policy is independently verified by Deloitte, with the current audit listed as Deloitte 2025.
- A single subscription covers Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Cover of $1,000,000 is listed with the plan, which matters for readers who buy privacy as risk cover.
Cons
- There is no free plan, so the 7-day free trial, 3 devices is the only way to try Surfshark before paying.
- Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line for urgent problems.
- Price-first readers have cheaper options: MEGA lists $1.67 and Sinew Software Systems lists $1.99 for a long-term plan.

What to look for

The price you meet at entry: Entry price in this field has a middle of €7.02, a low of €1.75 and a high of €15. Keep the plan name beside each figure, because the cheapest headline rate is often attached to the shortest term.
What the plan costs at renewal: Monthly billing across the field sits at €7.02, renewal totals at €87.69, and long-term monthly terms at €4.28. A low entry rate paired with a high renewal line is the pattern to watch for.
A free tier that actually filters: A free plan appears on 70.2% of these brands and a free version on 60%. Read what the free tier caps before deciding the paid plan is worth it.
Blocking inside or outside the browser: 80% of the field counts as an ad blocker, 40% as private DNS and 30% as a browser. Resolver tools cover every app on the network, while browser tools only change the browser.
Proof you can inspect: Open code is published by 68.6% of the brands, and 88.2% make no-logs claims. Both are easier to weigh than a marketing page.
Support and reach: A help centre is the norm here at 100%, chat is less common at 28.3%, and phone lines are rare at 20%. For country reach, the middle of the field sits at 62 countries.

Frequently asked questions

Which member costs least to get started with?+

Entry price is the easiest figure to compare here. ControlD lists a paid plan starting at $2 and NextDNS at €1.99, while the middle of this field sits at €7.02 and the low end is €1.75. Both also hand over a free plan, so a reader who never pays still gets filtering. Currencies differ between brands, so compare like with like before signing up.

Do I have to pay for a private DNS resolver?+

You do not have to. The ControlD free plan offers public DNS resolvers with preset and custom filtering plus community blocklists, with no account or app needed, and NextDNS has a free plan where 300,000 queries/month, then answering continues unfiltered. The catch is what each free tier caps. ControlD paid plans store raw query data for a limited period, while NextDNS logs nothing unless you opt in and lets you pick the storage region among the US, the EU, the UK and Switzerland.

What changes when a plan renews?+

Plenty. Entry prices in this category sit at €7.02 in the middle, while renewal totals reach €87.69 and long-term monthly terms sit at €4.28. A free version appears on 60% of the brands, so a monthly figure is not always the number you keep paying. Read the plan name beside every rate, because the entry rate and the renewal rate sit on different lines.

Which of these reaches beyond a single laptop?+

A DNS-first service covers whatever sits on the network. ControlD filters on macOS, Windows and Linux, routers included, while NextDNS lists Apple iOS/macOS, Android and Windows, from phones to browser extensions and Ubiquiti kit. Below them, the VPN members move whole connections instead: ExpressVPN covers Windows, macOS and Linux and Surfshark covers Windows, macOS and Linux, both reaching smart TVs. Server reach here has a middle of 62 countries and a high of 150.

Does open source code make a blocker better?+

It makes the claim checkable. Open code is published by 68.6% of the brands in this ranking, so you can inspect what sits between you and every site you visit instead of taking a marketing page at its word. NextDNS, MEGA, Brave Search, Proton AG and PIA publish theirs, while ExpressVPN does not. The other trust signal is logging, where 88.2% of the field make no-logs claims.

Can one subscription cover ads, a VPN and a browser?+

Sometimes. 100% of this field bundles a VPN, and 30% also list a browser. Surfshark offers private dns, ad blocker and search, PIA offers ad blocker and browser, and Brave Search pairs its browser with ad blocking and search in one place. The purpose-built members higher up, ControlD and NextDNS, filter traffic instead of replacing your apps, so the plan you buy stays the plan you keep.

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