(Desktop) Validating, recursive, caching DNS resolve with support for DNS-over-TLS. Designed to be fast, lean, and secure Unbound incorporates modern features based on open standards. Unbound was recently audited.
Reviewed by Marco Wollank
Unbound
nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about 2 ratings so far*
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Threat level
Hardened
A hardened pick. Worth the effort once you have chosen to shrink your footprint on purpose. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Running your own validating recursive resolver is the way to stop trusting anyone else’s DNS, and Unbound is the lean, well-audited tool for it with DoT support. The cost is that you become the operator: setup, caching behavior, and upstream choices are now your job, which is more than most people want. The right call for self-hosters and small networks chasing real independence; unnecessary if a reputable public resolver already satisfies you.
GitHub at a glance
NLnetLabs/unbound
Stars
4,707
+ 103 this week
Last commit
8d ago
healthy
License
BSD-3-Clause
Latest release
release-1.25.1
2mo ago
Stars, last 31d
Website at a glance
nlnetlabs.nl
B score 70
Solid website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 14d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
Unbound alternatives
NextDNS 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…
AdGuard DNS Easy to setup within minutes. Comes with setup guides for all systems. You only need to enter two IP adresses.
Mullvad DNS Free public encrypted DNS resolver from Mullvad VPN, supporting DoH and DoT. Available in six filtering variants including ad-blocking, malware, and family-safe options. No account required.
Quad9 Based in Switzerland. Supports: DNS-over-TLS (DoT), DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNSCrypt.
Nebulo (Android) Non-root, small-sized DNS changer utilizing DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS.
DNSCloak (iOS) Allows for the use for dnscrypt-proxy on an iPhone or iPad, which gives users the ability to encrypt their DNS requests through the use of an on-device VPN profile.
Unbound license, in plain English
BSD-3-Clause Permissive
Permissive: use and modify freely. You just keep the notice and do not use the authors' names to endorse your version.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Endorsement using author names
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Permissive licensing lets anyone reuse this, including inside closed products. That is freedom to build on, but no guarantee that downstream copies stay open.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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