# NextDNS alternatives: what AI models name instead, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. 208 of the 252 answers in the 1 category where NextDNS holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/nextdns/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- DNSFilter: 73
- Cisco Umbrella: 37
- Cloudflare Gateway: 23
- Cloudflare One: 5
- Control D: 5
- Quad9: 5

## DNS filtering

**Small business**: 62 of 84 answers did not name NextDNS (NextDNS is #7 of 8 at 0%).

- DNSFilter: first choice in 30 of those 62
- Cloudflare Gateway: first choice in 11 of those 62
- Control D: first choice in 3 of those 62
- Quad9: first choice in 3 of those 62
- Cloudflare One: first choice in 2 of those 62
- Cisco Umbrella DNS Security Essentials: first choice in 1 of those 62
- Cloudflare: first choice in 1 of those 62
- Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 for Families: first choice in 1 of those 62

**Mid-market**: 65 of 84 answers did not name NextDNS (NextDNS is #5 of 9 at 2%).

- DNSFilter: first choice in 30 of those 65
- Cloudflare Gateway: first choice in 8 of those 65
- Cisco Umbrella: first choice in 3 of those 65
- Control D: first choice in 2 of those 65
- Quad9: first choice in 2 of those 65
- Cisco Secure Access – DNS Defense: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Cloudflare: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Cloudflare One: first choice in 1 of those 65

**Enterprise**: 81 of 84 answers did not name NextDNS.

- Cisco Umbrella: first choice in 34 of those 81
- DNSFilter: first choice in 13 of those 81
- Cisco Secure Access: first choice in 4 of those 81
- Cloudflare Gateway: first choice in 4 of those 81
- Cisco Secure Access – DNS Defense: first choice in 3 of those 81
- Cloudflare One: first choice in 2 of those 81
- Zscaler Internet Access: first choice in 2 of those 81
- Cloudflare: first choice in 1 of those 81

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.