Notes 
#1 
Ad · The major advantage of NextDNS over AdGuard DNS is to be able to configure the service to your needs via parental controls, website restrictions or block whole categories of…
Reviewed by Gabriel Bachmann
Replace today: Adblock Plus
Best DNS Ad Blockers in 2026: Block Ads for Every Device
Private alternatives to Adblock Plus, vetted against our public criteria.
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Covered Easy start and good defaults for everyone
#2 
Ad · Easy to setup within minutes. Comes with setup guides for all systems. You only need to enter two IP adresses.
Hardened Some setup and real gains for the willing
#1 
You can run Pi-hole in a container, or deploy it directly to a supported operating system via installer.
No matches for those filters.
Ad blocking at the DNS level stops ads and trackers for every device on your network at once, before they ever load, with no browser extension to install. A blocking resolver sinkholes the requests that serve ads and telemetry, so phones, TVs, and every smart-home gadget behind them get cleaner, more private traffic from a single setup. It is the one privacy change you make once and forget, because it protects the whole house rather than one browser.
Why you can’t just turn off ads in the gadgets themselves
Most of the devices on a home network give you no way to block ads or telemetry. A smart TV has no extension store, and a connected speaker talks to its maker constantly with nothing you can toggle. The ads and tracking are baked into the firmware, with no toggle to reach. DNS blocking is the only layer that sits in front of all of them, because every one of those devices still has to ask a resolver where to connect. Refuse to answer for the ad and tracker domains and the gadget simply never reaches them, no per-device setting required.
How DNS ad blocking works
Every page or app your devices open first asks a DNS resolver to turn a domain name into an address. A blocking resolver checks that name against curated block lists and quietly refuses the ones tied to ads and tracking, so those requests never connect. Because the filtering happens at the network layer instead of inside a browser, one configuration covers everything downstream of it. NextDNS and AdGuard DNS run this in the cloud so it follows your devices anywhere, while Pi-hole runs it on hardware you own at home.
How we pick these
Every resolver here is measured against our public listing criteria: a clear no-logging stance, support for encrypted DNS so your provider cannot read or tamper with your lookups, block lists you can edit, and an operator who is open about who they are. We weigh who runs the resolver and where, because a DNS provider sees every domain you reach. We only list a resolver we would point our own network at, and we say plainly where each one asks you to trust it.
What to look for in a blocking resolver
Start by deciding between self-hosted and hosted. Self-hosted keeps every query inside your home and answers to no one, at the cost of running a small always-on device. Hosted asks for zero maintenance and roams with your phone, at the cost of trusting the operator with your lookups. Beyond that, the things that matter are the same: a no-logging policy you can actually read, encrypted DNS support, block lists you can extend, and a clean way to override anything that breaks. Per-device profiles make the difference between a tidy setup and one you fight with.
Will it block ads inside apps and on smart TVs?
For most of them, yes, and that is exactly where a browser blocker cannot help. App and TV ads are loaded from ad-serving domains just like web ads, so a resolver sinkholes them the same way. The exceptions are services that stitch ads into the same stream as the content from one domain, where blocking the domain would take the show with it. Those cases are the minority, and the network-wide coverage you gain everywhere else is the reason DNS blocking is worth running.
How to switch
Pick a resolver, then point one thing at it. For whole-home coverage, set its addresses in your router so every device inherits them; for a single phone or laptop, set them in that device’s network settings. Give it a day of normal use and whitelist anything that misbehaves. To keep the lookups themselves private, pair the resolver with encrypted DNS so your provider cannot see or rewrite them, and add an in-browser content blocker from our browser extensions list for the in-page ads and fingerprinting that no resolver can reach. The two layers together cover far more than either does alone.
Frequently asked
- Do I have to install something on every device?
- No, and that is the whole appeal. Point your router or a single device's DNS setting at a blocking resolver and everything behind it is covered, including the smart TVs and consoles where you cannot install a browser extension. One change protects the entire network at once.
- Will DNS ad blocking break websites?
- Occasionally a blocked domain takes a working feature down with it, such as a login widget or a payment frame. Every resolver here lets you whitelist a domain in a few seconds, so the rare breakage is quick to undo. You stay in control of what gets through.
- Should I self-host or use a hosted resolver?
- Run your own resolver on a small home device if you want full control and zero third-party trust. Pick a hosted resolver if you would rather not maintain anything and prefer it to follow your phone off the home network. Both sinkhole ads the same way; the difference is who runs the box.
- Does a DNS ad blocker slow my connection down?
- It usually speeds browsing up. Blocked ad and tracker requests never connect, so pages have less to download and render. A nearby or local resolver answers lookups fast, and the bandwidth saved on ads more than offsets the tiny cost of the filtering step.
- Can my internet provider still see what I block?
- Only if your lookups travel in the clear. The resolvers here support encrypted DNS, which hides the names you request from your provider and stops it tampering with them. Pair encrypted transport with the blocking resolver and your queries stay both private and filtered.
- Is DNS ad blocking enough on its own?
- It covers an enormous amount across every device, but it cannot strip ads served from the same domain as the content, and it does not stop in-page fingerprinting. Treat it as the network-wide base layer and add an in-browser blocker for the gaps it cannot reach.