NextDNS
NextDNS is a cloud-based encrypted DNS service that provides ad blocking, malware protection, privacy, and parental controls to consumers, SMBs, and schools via DoH/DoT, operating across 132 server locations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersWilmington, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What NextDNS does
NextDNS is a cloud-based DNS resolver service founded in 2019 that delivers security, privacy, ad-blocking, and parental control at the network layer via DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS rather than on-device software. The platform processes 100 billion queries per month across 132 server locations with approximately 7ms latency, analyzing DNS questions and answers on-the-fly to block malware, phishing, cryptojacking, and trackers in real time using feeds including Google Safe Browsing, plus proprietary logic for newly registered domains and DGAs. Complementary capabilities include OS-level native tracking protection, parental controls (SafeSearch enforcement, YouTube Restricted Mode, app/site blocking, Recreation Time scheduling), and analytics with configurable log retention and data residency options across the US, EU, UK, and Switzerland. A mobile VPN app extends protection to cellular networks.
The company monetizes via a freemium subscription model: a free tier capped at 300,000 queries/month, Pro at $1.99/month or $19.90/year for individuals and families, Business at $19.90/month per 50 employees for SMBs, and Education at $19.90/month per 250 students for schools and universities. Distribution is product-led and self-serve through nextdns.io and mobile apps, augmented by an embedded partnership with Mozilla Firefox (announced December 17, 2019) that makes NextDNS the DNS provider for Firefox's private and secure DNS service. The company is privately held, 100% founder-funded, with no external VC, and operates with 1-10 employees under founders Romain Cointepas (former Head of Mobile & TV at Dailymotion) and Olivier Poitrey (former Director of Engineering at Netflix and co-founder/CTO of Dailymotion).
NextDNS firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NextDNS
- Legal name
- NextDNS Inc.
- Website
- https://nextdns.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NextDNS is a cloud-based encrypted DNS service that provides ad blocking, malware protection, privacy, and parental controls to consumers, SMBs, and schools via DoH/DoT, operating across 132 server locations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NextDNS industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DNS Security Services
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DNS Security & Protective DNS (HDADABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) & DNS Traffic Management (HDAFAHAE), Cloud Networking Core Services (VPC/VNet, Load Balancing, DNS, NAT) (HDABAAAJ), Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI)
Keywords
Where NextDNS is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wilmington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
NextDNS business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Pro Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for personal and close family use. Provides unlimited DNS queries, unlimited devices, unlimited configurations, and access to all features with community support. Priced at $1.99/month or $19.90/year (17% savings).
- Business Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for small and medium businesses. Priced at $19.90/month per 50 employees or $199/year per 50 employees (17% savings). Includes email support.
- Education Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription for schools and universities. Priced at $19.90/month per 250 students or $199/year per 250 students (17% savings). Includes email support.
- Freemium Tier: Free tier providing 300,000 queries per month. When quota is exceeded, NextDNS continues answering DNS queries like a classic non-blocking DNS service. Unlimited devices, unlimited configurations, all features, community support included.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free - 300,000 queries/month for individuals |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro - Unlimited queries for personal/family use |
| Subscription | Monthly | Business - Per-employee pricing for SMBs |
| Subscription | Monthly | Education - Per-student pricing for schools |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
NextDNS product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NextDNS operates a cloud-based DNS resolver service that provides ad blocking, tracker blocking, malware and phishing protection, parental controls, and detailed analytics via encrypted DNS protocols (DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS). The service works at the network level, applying security and privacy filters across all devices and networks without consuming device CPU, memory, or battery. It serves individual consumers, families, small and medium businesses, and educational institutions through freemium and tiered subscription plans.
Product overview
NextDNS is a unified cloud-based DNS security and filtering platform that operates as a cloud-hosted Pi-hole alternative. The core NextDNS DNS Service provides ad blocking, malware protection, and content filtering via encrypted DNS protocols (DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS) across all platforms and devices. The platform integrates complementary sub-products including the Threat Intelligence System for real-time malicious domain detection, Native Tracking Protection for OS-level tracker blocking, Parental Control for content filtering with SafeSearch and app blocking, Analytics & Logs for network visibility, and Custom Configurations for personalized settings. A Mobile VPN App extends protection to cellular networks. The service processes over 100 billion queries monthly across 132 server locations with sub-10ms latency, operating on a freemium model (300,000 free queries/month) with Pro ($1.99/month) and Business ($19.90/month) tiers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- NextDNS DNS Service Cloud-based DNS resolver service that delivers ad blocking, malware and phishing protection, tracker blocking, parental controls, and analytics across all devices and networks via encrypted DNS protocols. Available to individuals, families, SMBs, and educational institutions on freemium and subscription tiers.
- NextDNS Mobile VPN App Standalone mobile VPN application that routes DNS queries through NextDNS's encrypted DNS infrastructure on cellular networks, extending ad blocking, tracker blocking, and security filtering to devices when not on Wi-Fi.
Companies that use NextDNS
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NextDNS technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
NextDNS partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Mozilla FirefoxcoreFirefox announced NextDNS as their partner in delivering private and secure DNS services to Firefox users. This partnership provides Firefox with encrypted DNS capability through NextDNS infrastructure, driving significant consumer awareness and adoption for NextDNS.
- StripeminorPayment processor for handling credit card transactions. Listed as a data processor under GDPR regulations.
- PayPalminorPayment processor for handling PayPal transactions. Listed as a data processor under GDPR regulations.
- BitPayminorCryptocurrency payment processor. Listed as a data processor under GDPR regulations.
- SendGridminorEmail service for sending transactional emails. Listed as a data processor under GDPR regulations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NextDNS competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Cloudflare: Cloudflare operates the 1.1.1.1 public DNS resolver with built-in malware/phishing filtering and a much broader security and networking platform. It is the most direct free competitor to NextDNS and a key benchmark for latency and global infrastructure scale.
- Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS): Cisco Umbrella, built on OpenDNS, is an enterprise-grade DNS-layer security platform with threat intelligence, policy enforcement, and integrations. It is the dominant incumbent in the B2B DNS security segment NextDNS would need to penetrate to scale upmarket.
- Google Public DNS: Google Public DNS is one of the largest free recursive resolvers globally and increasingly includes security and privacy features. It is a baseline free competitor and benchmark for any commercial DNS security offering.
Direct peers
- Quad9: Quad9 is a free, privacy-focused recursive DNS service that blocks malicious domains using threat intelligence feeds. It directly competes with NextDNS on the security-focused DNS resolver value proposition for consumers and SMBs.
- AdGuard: AdGuard offers DNS-level ad and tracker blocking (AdGuard DNS) alongside its ad blocker apps, with comparable privacy positioning and freemium/paid tiers. It competes head-to-head with NextDNS in consumer privacy and ad-blocking use cases.
- DNSFilter: DNSFilter provides cloud-based DNS filtering with threat protection and content filtering for SMB and MSP channels. It competes most directly with NextDNS in the SMB and education verticals with similar per-seat pricing models.
- CleanBrowsing: CleanBrowsing offers DNS-based content filtering and security with custom profiles and parental controls, targeting families, schools, and SMBs. It is comparable to NextDNS in feature set and target customer profiles.
- Control D: Control D is a customizable DNS service offering traffic redirection, content filtering, and per-device configuration — closely matching NextDNS's customizability/configurability positioning for prosumers and small businesses.
Emerging players
- Pi-hole: Pi-hole is the open-source, self-hosted network-wide ad/tracker blocker that NextDNS explicitly positions itself as a cloud-hosted alternative to. It is a meaningful free/community competitor particularly among technical users.
Regional players
- Comodo Secure DNS: Comodo Secure DNS provides free and enterprise DNS filtering services with threat intelligence and policy controls. It is comparable to NextDNS in security-focused DNS offerings, particularly for SMB and prosumers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NextDNS social profiles
Digital presenceNextDNS financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NextDNS leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
NextDNS funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NextDNS M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NextDNS
What does NextDNS do?
NextDNS operates a cloud-based DNS resolver service that provides ad blocking, tracker blocking, malware and phishing protection, parental controls, and detailed analytics via encrypted DNS protocols (DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS). The service works at the network level, applying security and privacy filters across all devices and networks without consuming device CPU, memory, or battery. It serves individual consumers, families, small and medium businesses, and educational institutions through freemium and tiered subscription plans.
Is NextDNS a public or private company?
NextDNS is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NextDNS founded?
NextDNS was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NextDNS based?
NextDNS is headquartered in Wilmington, United States, in the North America region.
How does NextDNS make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Pro Subscription is the primary driver. The others are business Subscription, education Subscription and freemium Tier.
Who are NextDNS's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Cloudflare, Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS) and Google Public DNS. Direct peers are Quad9, AdGuard, DNSFilter, CleanBrowsing and Control D. Pi-hole is listed as an emerging player. Comodo Secure DNS is listed as a regional player.
Does NextDNS have an API?
No public API is recorded for NextDNS.
What industry is NextDNS in?
NextDNS's product category is DNS Security Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADABAF, DNS Security & Protective DNS, with a secondary code of HDAFAHAE, Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) & DNS Traffic Management. Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 7373.