Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ProtonVPN VS NextDNS

Compare ProtonVPN VS NextDNS and see what are their differences

ProtonVPN logo ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a security focused FREE VPN service, developed by CERN and MIT scientists. Use the web anonymously, unblock websites & encrypt your connection.

NextDNS logo NextDNS

Block ads, trackers and malicious websites on all your devices.
  • ProtonVPN Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17
  • NextDNS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-26

ProtonVPN features and specs

  • Privacy and Security
    ProtonVPN offers strong encryption protocols (AES-256), a no-logs policy, and is based in Switzerland, which has strong privacy laws.
  • Open Source
    The ProtonVPN apps are open source and have been independently audited, which adds to their transparency and trustworthiness.
  • High-Speed Servers
    ProtonVPN provides high-speed servers and supports P2P file sharing, making it suitable for activities like streaming and torrenting.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    It supports a wide range of devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux.
  • Free Tier Available
    ProtonVPN offers a free version that has no data limits, although it does come with some restrictions compared to the paid plans.
  • Secure Core
    The Secure Core architecture routes traffic through multiple servers in privacy-friendly countries, offering an additional layer of security.

Possible disadvantages of ProtonVPN

  • Price
    ProtonVPN's paid plans are generally more expensive compared to other VPN services with similar features.
  • Limited Free Tier
    The free tier has limited access to servers and slower speeds, which may not be suitable for all users.
  • Streaming Limitations
    Although it supports streaming, some users have reported limitations and inconsistencies when trying to access certain geoblocked content.
  • Device Connection Limit
    The basic plan allows only up to two simultaneous device connections, which might be limiting for some users.
  • No 24/7 Customer Support
    ProtonVPN lacks 24/7 live chat customer support, which could be a drawback for users needing immediate assistance.

NextDNS features and specs

  • Privacy Protection
    NextDNS prevents trackers, malicious websites, and ads from reaching your devices, ensuring better privacy and security online.
  • Customization
    NextDNS offers extensive customization options, allowing users to configure the DNS filtering rules to suit their specific needs, including custom blocklists and allowlists.
  • Performance Insights
    Provides detailed analytics and logs, helping users monitor DNS queries, block rates, and other performance metrics.
  • Multiple Devices
    Can be used across various devices and operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and more.
  • Parental Controls
    Includes parental control features to block adult content, social media, and gaming sites, making the internet safer for children.

Possible disadvantages of NextDNS

  • Cost
    While there is a free tier, accessing full features and unlimited queries requires a paid subscription, which might be a downside for budget-conscious users.
  • Learning Curve
    The extensive customizability may pose a learning curve for users who are not tech-savvy, requiring some technical understanding to optimize settings effectively.
  • Reliance on Cloud
    NextDNS operates through cloud-based servers, which means users must rely on their internet connection and NextDNS's server uptime for uninterrupted protection and performance.
  • Data Retention Concerns
    Even though privacy is a key feature, some users might still have concerns about data retention and the logging of DNS queries.
  • Potential for Overblocking
    Aggressive filtering can sometimes block legitimate websites or services, requiring users to manually adjust settings or whitelist certain domains.

ProtonVPN videos

ProtonVPN Review 2019 - HONEST REVIEW!

More videos:

  • Review - ProtonVPN Review 2020 - WATCH BEFORE YOU BUY
  • Review - ProtonVPN Review 2020 - here is the TRUTH

NextDNS videos

How To Set NextDNS on Your PC

More videos:

  • Review - NextDNS: A review and walkthrough
  • Review - NextDNS Review and Configuration
  • Review - NextDNS IS The Future of DNS!!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ProtonVPN and NextDNS)
VPN
100 100%
0% 0
Security & Privacy
48 48%
52% 52
Ad Blockers
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud VPN
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ProtonVPN and NextDNS

ProtonVPN Reviews

Best 5 Psiphon Alternatives in 2023
The risks associated with picking a free VPN usually outweigh the pros, but in the case of ProtonVPN that’s a trusted service, you might just get away without paying a single dime for spoofing your location. There are obvious downsides with going for a completely free service – only 3 server locations and no access to geo-restricted Netflix content. However, the moment you...
The Best NordVPN Alternatives in 2022
What’s unique about ProtonVPN is its VPN Accelerator solution combined with a 10 Gbps server network to increase VPN speeds by over 400 percent. It also uses multiple OpenVPN processes for every server and re-engineered OpenVPN for optimum distribution of load.
Source: www.alphr.com
Best NordVPN Alternatives
ProtonVPN hails from a long line of privacy-centric products like ProtonMail. Moreover, CERN scientists are responsible for the company behind this VPN. Thus, it has a reputation to uphold, that of a privacy-centric VPN. Furthermore, the providers also offer a free ProtonVPN version by subsidizing the premium user base. As expected, the company hails from Switzerland and...
Source: vpnwired.com
10 Best NordVPN Alternatives – Safe & Fast VPNs in 2022
ProtonVPN is one of the reliable alternatives of NordVPN when it comes to well-optimized servers. The VPN service has both free and premium plans, but users can’t select servers in the free plan. In total, ProtonVPN has 526 servers in 42 countries, and it’s always known for its ping time and faster speed.
Source: techviral.net
The 10 Best Open Source VPN Apps
If you frequently watch YouTube, you must have at least heard of this VPN application. Not only is ProtonVPN available on all Windows, macOS, and Linux-based systems, but you’ll also find its mobile apps on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. A little background on this app: ProtonVPN has been developed by a team of scientists from MIT and CERN, so you know it’s...

NextDNS Reviews

22 NextDNS Alternatives
NextDNS app intuitively encrypts all DNS queries on all networks and manages settings from your cell phones and tablets. NextDNS brings next-level protection from almost all kinds of security threats while blocking ads and trackers on applications as well as websites. This significant tool brings safe and supervised internet for kids on almost all networks and devices.
Free Privacy App for Any Device.
The other option is to host your own PiHole. NextDNS’s service is modelled on PiHole, and openly admit this in their FAQ. I personally host my own PiHole on a RaspberryPi 3b+ and have my traffic in my apartment routed through this. I trust NextDNS to protect me while I am on my mobile data, or in a coffee shop, but at home, I enjoy knowing that I have 100% control over my...
Source: medium.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, NextDNS should be more popular than ProtonVPN. It has been mentiond 509 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ProtonVPN mentions (310)

View more

NextDNS mentions (509)

  • uBlock Origin is no longer available on the Chrome Store
    uBlock Origin still works in Firefox. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/ And you can, I believe, still just modify your hosts table to block out ads in Chrome. https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts Or your router's DNS using something like NextDNS. https://nextdns.io/ Ads suck. Support content where you can, but even when you pay they still serve ads / tracking scripts. So fuck 'em. Block... - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Hack your DNS for better focus
    I've used NextDNS for years to keep our home internet safe for the kids and it works really well. Fortunately NextDNS offers API access that you can use to automate turning different internet filters on and off. Unfortunately their API docs are horrible. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Microsoft begins turning off uBlock Origin and other extensions in Edge
    I think that we'll need to adopt network-level filtering if we want to outsmart the browsers. I haven't looked back since adopting NextDNS and configuring my router to filter all traffic through it. It does a great job of stripping ads out of all my devices connected to it, and that's something I don't mind paying a few bucks for a year (I think it's like $19/year). Check it out here: https://nextdns.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Pihole v6
    One of the most values I get out of a SaaS service is NextDNS [0]. There are competitors like ControlD [1] that are also very good. At the end of the day they both check all the boxes for me. But, the piece that really got me with NextDNS when I started using it was the unlimited number of profiles. This allows me to target any device, no matter where it is (this is fantastic for mobile devices) and keep my... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Pihole v6
    Want to highlight https://nextdns.io/ as a similar service, very happy with it. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ProtonVPN and NextDNS, you can also consider the following products

Windscribe - Windscribe is a desktop application and browser extension that work together to block ads and trackers, restore access to blocked content and help you safeguard your privacy online.

Pi-hole - Pi-hole is a multi-platform, network-wide ad blocker.

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

AdGuard - Surf the Web Ad-Free and Safely. Shield up!

NordVPN - NordVPN offers VPN technology that encrypts data twice.

Blokada - The best ad blocker for Android. Free and open source.