# DNSFilter vs Cloudflare Gateway: which do AI models recommend for DNS filtering, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, DNS filtering. Thirteen of fourteen models named DNSFilter first on the direct prompt; three named Cloudflare Gateway. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/dns-filtering/dnsfilter-vs-cloudflare-gateway/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNSFilter | 59% | #1 of 9 | 2% | 54 | 14 of 14 |
| Cloudflare Gateway | 22% | #2 of 9 | 2% | 48 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Perplexity Sonar: both first (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter) (alternatives: Control D, SafeDNS)
- MiniMax M2.5: both first (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway, DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Akamai Enterprise Threat Protector, Cloudflare Gateway, Prisma Access DNS Security)
- GPT-5.4 mini: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Access – DNS Defense, Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Zscaler DNS Security)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cloudflare Gateway, Control D)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Mistral Small: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Webroot DNS Protection)
- Llama 4 Maverick: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter, WebTitan)
- Kimi K2: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway, Infoblox BloxOne DDI)
- GPT-6 Luna: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Secure Access, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: dnsfilter first (first choices: DNSFilter) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, Cloudflare Gateway)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: cloudflare gateway first (first choices: Cloudflare Gateway) (alternatives: Cisco Umbrella, DNSFilter)

## What the models said about DNSFilter

- "powerful but come with cautionary notes" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Highly regarded for its fast Anycast network, real-time AI-driven threat categorization, and very user-friendly interface. Highly suited for mid-sized companies." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, first choice)
- "Popular options for 500 users include DNSFilter (AI-focused, easy deploy) and Cisco Umbrella (enterprise-grade integrations)." (Grok 4.1 Fast, scale prompt, first choice)
- "the strongest default choice is DNSFilter if your priority is straightforward DNS filtering with good mid-market fit" (Perplexity Sonar, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cloudflare Gateway

- "powerful but come with cautionary notes" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "I'd suggest starting with Cloudflare Gateway if you want free tier flexibility, or Control D if you want predictable low-cost pricing" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "The Best Overall Balance: Cloudflare Gateway ... If you want speed and cost-efficiency, go with Cloudflare Gateway." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Cloudflare is currently the market leader in this space... If yes, Cloudflare is usually the superior choice" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.