DNS blocking has gone mainstream. What used to require a homelab and a weekend of configuration is now accessible to anyone willing to spend 20 minutes on setup. Three tools define the current landscape: Pi-hole, NextDNS, and Bloqr. They’re not the same product. They’re not even competing for the same users.
Here’s an honest comparison.
Pi-hole
What it is: A self-hosted DNS server designed to run on a Raspberry Pi (or any Linux machine on your local network). You install it, configure your router to use it as the DNS server, and it filters every DNS request from every device on your network.
The case for it: Pi-hole is free, open-source, and radically transparent. You control the server, the lists, the logs, and the rules. There’s no third party. No SaaS contract. No cloud company with access to your DNS queries. If privacy means “no one but me has this data,” Pi-hole is the answer.
The case against it: Pi-hole lives on your local network. When you leave your home, your phone reverts to unfiltered DNS — unless you set up a VPN back to your home network, which is a significant additional project. It requires physical hardware that needs maintenance, power, and occasional troubleshooting. It doesn’t easily sync rules across devices on different networks.
Who it’s for: Network hobbyists, homelab enthusiasts, and people who want total control and are comfortable managing their own infrastructure.
NextDNS
What it is: A cloud-based DNS filtering service. You point your device’s DNS settings to NextDNS servers, configure your filter lists through their dashboard, and filtering follows you everywhere — home, office, coffee shop, mobile data.
The case for it: NextDNS is genuinely excellent product design. Setup takes under 5 minutes. The dashboard is clean and useful. It works on every device, everywhere, without additional infrastructure. Filter list options are extensive. The free tier (300,000 queries per month) is sufficient for casual use.
The case against it: When you use NextDNS, your DNS queries go to NextDNS’s servers. You’re trusting their privacy practices, their data handling, their business continuity, and their relationship with their infrastructure providers. NextDNS is a small company. Their privacy policy is good. But “trust this specific company” is still a form of trust you’re extending to a third party.
Who it’s for: People who want easy, everywhere filtering without managing hardware. Good default choice for most people who want to get started without overcomplicating things.
Bloqr
What it is: A vendor-agnostic DNS filter list management layer. Bloqr doesn’t replace your DNS provider — it works with whatever you already have (or helps you choose one), manages your filter lists across all your providers and devices, and adds AI-powered curation and automation on top.
The case for it: Bloqr’s core insight is that the filter list management problem is the hard part — not the DNS filtering itself. If you already run AdGuard Home or NextDNS or Pi-hole, you’ve probably noticed that keeping lists updated, deduplicating overlapping rules, and syncing changes across multiple instances is tedious. Bloqr handles that. Your vendor stays exactly where it is. You get intelligent automation on top.
The case against it: Bloqr is in early access. If you want something that works today with no waiting, Pi-hole and NextDNS are both available right now.
Who it’s for: People who already have a DNS filtering setup and want better automation, or people starting fresh who want to avoid vendor lock-in.
Comparison table
| Pi-hole | NextDNS | Bloqr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted | ✓ | ✗ | Works with either |
| Works away from home | Requires extra setup | ✓ | ✓ |
| List management | Manual | Moderate | Automated |
| Vendor lock-in | None | NextDNS | None |
| Hardware required | Yes | No | No |
| Free tier | Free (self-hosted) | 300k queries/mo | Free tier on waitlist |
| AI-curated lists | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
The key point: these aren’t competitors
Pi-hole and AdGuard Home are filtering engines. NextDNS is a cloud filtering service. Bloqr manages the list layer for all of them.
Using Pi-hole AND Bloqr means Pi-hole handles your local DNS filtering, and Bloqr keeps your filter lists current, curated, and synced without manual maintenance. They’re additive, not competing.
The question isn’t “which one.” The question is “which architecture fits your situation, and what automation do you need on top of it.”
Join the Bloqr waitlist to get early access and bring your existing setup with you.