AdGuard DNS vs NextDNS: two ways to block ads at the DNS layer

Quick identity check

AdGuard 94.140.14.14 is a public DNS resolver from AdGuard, the ad-blocking company, that filters ads, trackers, and known malware domains for every device pointed at it — no app to install. NextDNS 45.90.28.0 is a cloud resolver from NextDNS Inc. built around configurable profiles: you decide which blocklists, security features, and rules apply, and you get a dashboard showing what was resolved and what was blocked. Both are free to start, and both support encrypted transport over DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS.

Two philosophies: a maintained default vs a control panel

This is the real distinction, and it matters more than any single feature. AdGuard takes an opinionated stance: its team maintains the blocklists, and when you use 94.140.14.14 you get those lists exactly as they ship. There are no toggles, no login, and nothing to tune — which is the whole appeal. It behaves the same on your router, your laptop, and your phone the moment you enter the address.

NextDNS inverts that. Nothing is decided for you until you decide it. After creating a free account you build a profile, pick from a large catalogue of blocklists, flip on security features like malware and typosquatting protection, add your own allow/deny entries, and watch a live log of what your network is querying. That flexibility is powerful for people who want to see and shape their DNS traffic — and it's overhead for people who just want ads gone. Neither approach is "better"; they solve the same problem for different temperaments.

The account question

With AdGuard's public resolver there is no account at all. You enter the addresses and the filtering is already active. NextDNS works differently: its generic addresses (45.90.28.0 and 45.90.30.0) will resolve names without any setup, but they apply none of your rules until you link your profile — either by registering your network's public IP address in the dashboard, or by using your profile's dedicated DoH/DoT endpoint under dns.nextdns.io. Skip that step and NextDNS is just a plain resolver that blocks nothing. It's a reasonable trade for the configurability, but it's a step AdGuard doesn't ask of you.

The free tier, honestly

Both are genuinely usable for free, but the free tiers are shaped differently, and this is the detail most comparisons gloss over.

In practice: a single device or a light household often stays under the NextDNS cap comfortably and never pays a cent. A whole network of phones, TVs, and smart-home gadgets can burn through 300,000 queries surprisingly fast, at which point filtering quietly switches off. AdGuard's fixed-list public resolver sidesteps that question entirely — it keeps blocking regardless of volume, at the cost of the per-profile control and analytics NextDNS gives you.

Filtering and features

On the core job, they overlap: both block ads and trackers, and both offer malware protection (AdGuard blocks known malware domains on its default resolver; NextDNS includes threat-intelligence features in its security section). Family filtering is where they diverge in how, not whether. NextDNS offers adult-content and safe-search controls you toggle inside a profile. AdGuard keeps its default resolver ad-and-tracker focused and moves family filtering to a separate address (94.140.14.15) — you change resolvers to change behaviour, rather than flipping a setting.

If deep customization is the point — custom rules, multiple profiles for different devices, native apps, and one-click blocklist packs — NextDNS is built for it. If you want ads blocked with zero maintenance and no dashboard to babysit, AdGuard's default lists are the simpler path.

Privacy and analytics

AdGuard DNS's privacy note: Blocks ads and trackers at the DNS level and stores anonymized statistics only, with no personally identifying logs. NextDNS's privacy note: Privacy-oriented with configurable or zero log retention; states it does not sell data.

The nuance is analytics. NextDNS's usefulness comes partly from its logs — the per-profile dashboard exists because it records what your network resolves so it can show you. You control the retention (including turning logging off), but the feature is opt-in visibility into your own traffic. AdGuard's public resolver takes the opposite tack: it keeps only anonymized statistics and gives you no personal log to look at. On EDNS Client Subnet — the extension that shares part of your network location with authoritative servers — AdGuard does not send it, while NextDNS treats it as a per-profile option you can enable if you want the CDN-locality benefit. If minimizing what you share is your priority, our best DNS for privacy guide compares the stricter options.

Speed: run the test, don't trust a ranking

Filtering doesn't inherently make a resolver slow — a blocked domain simply returns a "nothing here" answer, often faster than a real lookup. What actually decides AdGuard vs NextDNS speed for you is the same thing that decides any resolver: the distance to their nearest server and how well that server peers with your ISP. Those factors vary by city and by connection, so there is no honest global "winner."

The only number worth acting on is one measured from your own line. Run the live DNS speed test and look at median latency alongside jitter, not a single lucky lookup. That tells you far more than any published leaderboard.

Side-by-side comparison

Which should you pick?

• Pick AdGuard DNS if you want ads and trackers blocked network-wide with no account, no dashboard, and no monthly cap — set 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15 once and forget it. Add its separate family address (94.140.14.15) if you also want adult-content filtering.
• Pick NextDNS if you want to choose your own blocklists, run different profiles for different devices, and see analytics of what your network resolves — and you're comfortable creating a free account and staying within (or paying past) the free query cap.

Still deciding? Set each on a device for a day and see which fits your habits — then run the speed test so latency is a measured fact for your connection, not a guess.