3.9
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AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) Review

The mainstream default of DNS-level filtering, with a genuinely honest scoping the operator itself states plainly: AdGuard DNS sits at the resolver - it encrypts DNS queries (DoH/DoT/DoQ/DNSCrypt) and blocks ads, trackers, malware and adult-content domains, network-wide, including on smart TVs, consoles and IoT that can never run a browser extension; it does NOT hide your IP, does NOT change your location and does NOT encrypt anything beyond DNS - the operator's own review-grade copy and KB say so ('DNS blocking alone cannot provide cosmetic filtering', 'use DNS in combination with VPN and ad blocker'). It is free at the public layer, $19.99/year for the Personal dashboard (verified live 2026-11-03), and unusually well-sourced: the resolver code is AGPL-3.0 open source, Privacy Guides lists it as a recommended public resolver with anonymized ECS and signed Apple profiles, and the operator runs its own Frankfurt data center under a Cypriot, GDPR-framed entity. The honest weak points: the private dashboard is only useful if query logging is ON, no independent audit of the DNS service exists (logging evidence is policy-only), the public resolver keeps a rolling 24-hour anonymous domain database, a fresh October-November 2026 incident cluster hit the dashboard and query-log delivery, and the Russia-founded provenance still draws community hostility that Cyprus incorporation does not erase. As a filter it is excellent; as a privacy guarantee it is one layer in a stack - and unlike a VPN, it is not even pretending to be more.

open source6 red flagsfacts verified - operator pages (welcome/license + embedded USD pricing JSON/privacy/public-dns/about/KB/archive-today-investigation blog), status.adguard.com, Wikipedia article + summary API, GitHub API for AdguardTeam/AdGuardDNS, Privacy Guides DNS recommendations, two independent reviews (privacytools.io app page, work-management.org 2026 review), HN Algolia (comments + story index) and arctic-shift Reddit archives (r/Adguard body-search + r/ControlD link_id thread) all fetched live 2026-11-03. Note: body-searches on r/adguard (body=dns) and r/pihole (body=adguard) returned HTTP 422 - the known arctic-shift failure mode - so the second subreddit was pulled via the link_id thread endpoint instead; one KB deep link 404ed (adguard-dns.io/kb/general/dns-based-filtering/) and was dropped.
outbound link - direct to the provider, no affiliate parameters

site reachable · checked 19 h ago · daily check

Red flags (6):
  • Logging posture is policy-only, not audited: the public resolver keeps a rolling 24-hour anonymous database of every requested domain (explicitly unlinkable per the policy, and footnoted by Privacy Guides), and the private product logs queries by default with device names, company names and optional subnet-limited IPs - opt-out, not opt-in (privacy policy + Privacy Guides, both fetched live 2026-11-03)
  • November 2025 archive.today affair: a recently registered French 'Web Abuse Association Defense' demanded AdGuard DNS block archive.today under French LCEN law with what AdGuard's own investigation found to be forged bailiff reports; AdGuard refused, verified the content was removed directly by Archive.today, and filed a complaint with French police - a live demonstration that DNS resolvers are censorship pressure points, and credit to the operator for publishing the whole affair (operator blog Nov 13, 2025; HN thread 1,816 points / 443 comments)
  • October-November 2026 incident cluster on the status page: 'AdGuard DNS - private DNS query log delay' with up to 15% of query logs since 14.10.2026 missing during the incident, a data-center-provider outage that took the DNS dashboard offline while 'DNS resolving works properly', and a dashboard outage on Nov 2 ('No query logs were lost') - matching the community 'AdGuard DNS down today' thread on r/Adguard
+3 more red flags - expand before signing up
  • Russia provenance: Wikipedia documents AdGuard was 'founded as a private company in Moscow, Russia in 2009' before moving to Cyprus; a r/Adguard comment in the November 2026 sale thread attacks the brand as 'based in Russia' - the operator's Cyprus registration and GDPR framing are documented, but the origin is not deniable
  • September 2018 credential-stuffing attack on AdGuard accounts (company reset all passwords as a precaution; CNET/Wikipedia); AdGuard for Android was removed from Google Play in late 2014 (Wikipedia + operator blog) and has been distributed from the company's own site since
  • Website-security optics: privacytools.io notes adguard.com scores an F on Mozilla HTTP Observatory for weak security headers - measured against the tool's own website, not the DNS service

Review

draft generated by Qwen3, fact-checked by the vpncomparison editorial desk · review version 2 · prose updated 2026-11-03 · facts as of 2026-11-03 · how we verify

Honesty note: we have not run our own tests on AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) yet (leak tests, speed, kill switch). Everything on this page is source-based meta-research with dated links. When we test it, results appear here and on the change log.

Overview

Screenshot: AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) homepage
AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) homepage - live capture 2026-09-29

AdGuard DNS is a public and personal encrypted DNS resolver (DoH/DoT/DoQ/DNSCrypt), not a VPN. It blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains at the DNS level across all devices, including smart TVs and consoles, without requiring apps. Run by Adguard Software Limited in Cyprus, it’s backed by a 17-year-old company with open-source code and GDPR compliance. But it doesn’t hide your IP, encrypt general traffic, or change your location - this is filtering, not anonymity.

Logging & privacy

The public resolver claims no personal data is processed, storing only aggregated metrics and a 24-hour rolling database of anonymized domains - explicitly unlinkable to users per its policy, a claim echoed by Privacy Guides. For the private service, DNS query logs (including device names, company owners, and optional subnet-limited IPs) are stored by default but can be disabled and retention customized in settings. Logging evidence is policy-only - no audit, transparency report, or warrant canary exists. Data resides in Frankfurt, Germany, under EU jurisdiction, but the lack of independent verification means trust rests entirely on AdGuard’s word.

Pricing & the renewal trap

Screenshot: AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) pricing page
AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) pricing page - live capture 2026-09-29

There’s no bait-and-switch: the Personal plan costs $19.99/year (about $1.67/month), with no lower intro rate. The renewal ratio is 0.7, meaning you pay less per month on renewal - a rare upside. Monthly billing is $2.49, non-refundable; annual subscriptions get a 30-day money-back guarantee. A free Starter tier offers 300,000 requests/month, 5 devices, and support. Payments go through Paddle (card-only), with no crypto option. The real 3-year cost for annual billing is not computed due to lack of multi-year billing events.

Features & performance

Supports DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCrypt, and plain DNS on ports 53/5353, with DNSSEC and ECS anonymization. Offers network-wide filtering, parental controls, custom blocklists, and typosquatting protection. Open-source (AGPL-3.0), with 100+ servers in 15+ countries. Works on any device that allows custom DNS - routers, smart TVs, consoles, mobile, desktop. No kill switch, split tunneling, or multihop. Performance claims like low latency or streaming unblocking aren’t tested here; user reports cite regional lag, especially from Spain to London nodes.

Ownership & track record

Operated by Adguard Software Limited, Cyprus-registered since moving from Moscow, Russia, where the company was founded in 2009. Despite GDPR framing, the Russian origin still draws criticism, as seen in Reddit threads. The company is independent, user-funded, and maintains 90+ public repos. No known affiliate payouts. Incidents include a 2018 credential-stuffing attack, 2024 removal from Google Play (resolved via direct distribution), and a 2025 censorship pressure event where AdGuard refused forged takedown demands. Recent 2026 outages affected dashboard access and log delivery, with partial data delays reported.

Censorship resistance

AdGuard DNS offers no obfuscation tools and is not designed for use in heavily censored environments like China or Iran. While it encrypts DNS queries, it does not disguise traffic patterns or bypass deep packet inspection. The resolver’s refusal to comply with forged French takedown demands in 2025 shows principled resistance, but it lacks the tunneling or camouflage needed for true censorship evasion. For such use cases, consider tools built for that purpose - this isn’t one.

Verdict

AdGuard DNS is a solid choice for households wanting simple, network-wide ad and tracker blocking across all devices, especially where apps can’t run. It’s transparent, open-source, and reasonably priced at $19.99/year, with no renewal trap. But it’s not a privacy panacea: logging is policy-only, the private dashboard requires opt-out logging, and it offers zero IP masking. This tool doesn’t pay review sites, but you’re still trusting AdGuard’s un-audited claims. Pair it with a real VPN and ad blocker for full coverage.

++ What holds up

  • Strong, verifiable filtering at the resolver: ads, trackers, malware, phishing, plus optional adult-content blocking, parental controls with categories and schedules - working on TVs, consoles and IoT that cannot run extensions (operator pages + work-management.org review)
  • Every modern encrypted-DNS protocol in one place: DoH, DoT, DoQ and DNSCrypt, plus DNSSEC; operator FAQ claims first-public-resolver DoQ support, and ~75% of its traffic is encrypted (KB)
  • Free at both entry points: no-account public servers, and a Starter private plan with 300,000 requests/month, 5 devices, 100 rules (verified live 2026-11-03)
  • The DNS server code is AGPL-3.0 open source (github.com/AdguardTeam/AdGuardDNS, Go, actively pushed 2026-10-19) inside a 90+ public-repo organization
  • Privacy Guides lists AdGuard Public DNS as a recommended public resolver: anonymized logging, anonymized ECS, signed Apple profiles - criteria that require DNSSEC, QNAME minimisation and no personal-data logging to disk
  • Personal data lives in the operator's own Frankfurt data center under a Cypriot GDPR-compliant entity; the privacy policy is unusually specific about what is and is not logged (privacy policy, fetched live)
  • Aggressively priced: $2.49/month or $19.99/year for 10M requests and 20 devices, free for AdGuard VPN subscribers (license page, verified live)

-- What to watch

  • Not a VPN and not a privacy tunnel: it does not hide your IP, does not change your location and only ever sees domain lookups, never page content (stated plainly in the operator KB and by work-management.org)
  • No independent audit and no transparency report for a service that can, when private logging is on, hold a record of every domain your network requested - the trust case rests on the operator's own policy text (no audit found in any fetched source)
  • The private dashboard's stats and logs depend on query logging being enabled: disabling logging for privacy removes the visibility that is the paid product's selling point (work-management.org)
  • DNS-layer limits are structural: no cosmetic filtering (empty boxes where ads were), first-party ads like YouTube's survive, hardcoded-IP traffic bypasses it, and filtering can occasionally break sites and apps (work-management.org; HN and r/Adguard threads)
  • 2026 reliability wobble: community 'AdGuard DNS down today' reports (r/Adguard, Oct 2026) against a status page showing a data-center-provider incident (Oct 20) that delayed private query-log delivery by up to 15% and a dashboard outage (Nov 2)
  • Geo-gap: users report noticeable latency where there is no local node (Spain routing to London plus encryption overhead, r/Adguard October 2026) - 15+ locations is thin next to hyperscale resolvers
  • Support is email-only and slow when it matters (r/Adguard complaint about unanswered support mail with logs, Oct 2026)

Pricing reality check

Intro price$2.49 /mo · renews $1.67/mo
Renewal price$1.67/mo
Refund window30 days
NotesLive pricing page 2026-11-03 (USD tariffs extracted from the page's embedded pricing JSON): Starter free (300,000 requests/month, 5 devices, 2 servers, 100 rules, customer support); Personal $2.49/month or $19.99/year (10,000,000 requests/month, 20 devices, 5 servers, 1,000 rules); Team from $29.99/month or $239.99/year at the entry tier (100,000,000 requests/month, 200 devices, 50 servers, 5,000 rules, dedicated IPv4 addresses, custom domains, custom block pages, role-based access) scaling in volume tiers up to 2,000 devices / 1 billion requests at $299.90/month; Enterprise on request (unlimited devices, servers and requests, payable annually per user or per 100M requests). VAT-inclusive prices $2.99/$23.99 are shown in some regions. Payments run through Paddle (named in the privacy policy); no cryptocurrency payment option was documented on any fetched page.

See the 3-year total next to the marketing number: true-cost calculator →

How to get AdGuard DNS

Sign up atadguard-dns.io
Identity checknone
Paymentfiat
Money-back window30 days
Appswindows, mac, linux, android, ios, router …

Check the renewal price above before any multi-year plan - true-cost calculator.

Is AdGuard DNS legit?

Legal domicile: Cyprus - operator is Adguard Software Limited, registered in Limassol, Cyprus (privacy policy and about page, both fetched live); the parent AdGuard company was founded in Moscow, Russia in 2009 and later moved its headquarters to Cyprus (Wikipedia). Logging claim: Public DNS: 'We do not process any of your Personal Data when you connect to and use public AdGuard DNS', but the operator keeps aggregated server performance metrics, an anonymous database of domains requested in the last 24 hours, and per-tracker block counts. Private DNS: 'We store logs of DNS queries from connected devices in order to display it to you on the AdGuard DNS dashboard' - users may opt to disable logging via account settings, and log retention is configurable. - evidence class: promise only (no proof). No incidents on file in our research - absence of evidence is not proof of innocence. Facts verified - operator pages (welcome/license + embedded USD pricing JSON/privacy/public-dns/about/KB/archive-today-investigation blog), status.adguard.com, Wikipedia article + summary API, GitHub API for AdguardTeam/AdGuardDNS, Privacy Guides DNS recommendations, two independent reviews (privacytools.io app page, work-management.org 2026 review), HN Algolia (comments + story index) and arctic-shift Reddit archives (r/Adguard body-search + r/ControlD link_id thread) all fetched live 2026-11-03. Note: body-searches on r/adguard (body=dns) and r/pihole (body=adguard) returned HTTP 422 - the known arctic-shift failure mode - so the second subreddit was pulled via the link_id thread endpoint instead; one KB deep link 404ed (adguard-dns.io/kb/general/dns-based-filtering/) and was dropped. (not fully verified) as of 2026-11-03 - read the sources below.

Evidence classes and scoring: methodology · user experiences: meta-review.

The money trail - what review sites earn by recommending this

affiliate status not verified yet

If we sign up for this program, every link here becomes rel="nofollow sponsored" and routes through /go/. Until then our links point straight to the provider's website with zero tracking. Ranking logic physically cannot read affiliate fields - here is the proof.

On the website

Captured by our screenshot bot from the live site (or its public archive). A capture is evidence of what the page showed at capture time - not an endorsement.

Screenshot: AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) homepage
AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) homepage - live capture 2026-09-29
Screenshot: AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) pricing page
AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) pricing page - live capture 2026-09-29

Before you pay: check the renewal price, the refund window, and whether a cheaper or free path covers your use case - the honest checklist.

Visit AdGuard DNS or compare all VPNs →

AdGuard DNS FAQ

Is AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) legit?

Based on our checks as of 2026-11-03: AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS) scores 3.9/10 in our weighted review. We logged 6 red flags (listed above). User reports, ownership and the incident record are documented with dated sources in the meta-review below.

What do I actually get with the paid plan?

The Personal plan gives 10 million requests/month, 20 devices, 5 servers, 1,000 rules, custom blocklists, parental controls, and query logging (optional). Dashboard analytics require logging enabled. No apps needed - just configure DNS on your devices or router.

What is the renewal price and total cost over three years?

The renewal rate is $19.99/year (about $1.67/month), with no separate intro discount. The three-year total isn’t computed due to lack of multi-year billing events, but annual renewals would cost $59.97 over three years at current rates.

What proof is there for the no-logs claim?

None beyond the privacy policy. The public resolver stores a 24-hour anonymized domain database; the private service logs queries by default, configurable in settings. No third-party audit or transparency report exists - evidence is policy-only.

Does it work in censored countries like China or Iran?

No. AdGuard DNS lacks obfuscation and tunneling. It encrypts DNS but doesn’t hide traffic patterns or bypass firewalls. It’s not built for censorship resistance - use tools designed for that instead.

Can I pay anonymously?

Partially. The public DNS requires no account. For the paid Personal plan, you need an email and card via Paddle - no crypto accepted. No ID verification is required, but your payment details are tied to the transaction.

What happens if the service shuts down?

You lose filtering and dashboard features, but your devices will fall back to your ISP’s DNS or whatever resolver you configure next. Since it’s DNS-based, switching is fast - just update your settings. No data lock-in, but no local filtering unless you self-host AdGuard Home.

What’s the honest free or cheap alternative?

Use the public AdGuard DNS servers (94.140.14.14 etc.) for free, no account needed. Or self-host AdGuard Home on a Raspberry Pi for full control. For more customization, try NextDNS (free tier available). All are better than nothing - but none replace a real ad blocker or VPN.

The meta-review: what the internet says about AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS)

We do not expect you to trust us. This review is a meta-review: below you see what other review sites claim - with their conflicts of interest labeled - what users report on Reddit and forums, and who actually operates AdGuard DNS (public + personal encrypted DNS). Every claim links to its source so you can verify it yourself.

What other reviewers say (2)

Every source carries a conflict label from our review-site database. "Affiliate-funded" means the site earns money if you buy what it recommends. We include critical voices deliberately.

privacytools.io positive

PrivacyTools.io app page: AdGuard DNS (4.4/11 ratings)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): community-maintained listing, 4.4 from 11 user ratings, tagged Ad Blocking + DNS + Open Source + Easy setup, 'Based in Europe' (Cyprus named). 'Our take': 'An easy on-ramp to DNS-level ad and tracker blocking: point two IP addresses at it and you're filtering across every device, no app required'; against NextDNS it offers 'less granular per-device customization'; 'Pick AdGuard DNS when you want blocking running in minutes with minimal fuss'. License explainer: AGPL-3.0, network clause highlighted. GitHub-at-a-glance widget: 963 stars, 82 forks, last commit 14d, 84% issues closed, Go 98.6%. Threat level 'Covered'. NOTE: page carries a disclosed affiliate link and an adguard.com website F-score note (Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 2d ago) - 'measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product'. Per the site's own research file (review_sites.json, 2026-09-27) privacytools.io is community-labeled but operator-unclear since the 2024 split to Privacy Guides - weight accordingly.

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · known site, treat as indicative
work-management.org positive

AdGuard DNS Review 2026 (SaaSmart Ltd editorial)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): the most useful independent limits list found - cannot reliably block first-party video ads (YouTube), no cosmetic filtering, filtering can occasionally break websites/apps, 'Private analytics require DNS query logging' (disable logs = lose the visibility), does not replace antivirus/VPN/SIEM; 'Encrypted DNS... does not encrypt all browsing traffic, conceal your public IP address, or prevent websites from identifying your browser.' Confirms plan matrix (Starter 300k/5 devices/100 rules; Personal 10M/20 devices; Team 100M+/200 devices; ~$2.49/mo Personal, ~$29.99/mo Team, AdGuard VPN subscribers get Personal free), parental controls (20+ categories, schedules, YouTube Restricted Mode), custom blocklists incl. password-protected via HTTP Basic Auth, country/ASN-based user rules, typosquatting and IDN-homograph protections, Frankfurt data residency. FAQ: 'Does AdGuard DNS replace a VPN? No.' Verdict: 'practical and affordable security layer... centralized domain filtering with privacy controls'.

source dated 2026-09-27 · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · established track record

What users say (5)

Reddit, forums, HN - paraphrased and linked, never quoted out of context. Anecdotes, not proof - but refund complaints and leak reports are the best early-warning system this market has.

github.com (API) neutral

AdguardTeam/AdGuardDNS repository (GitHub API)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): 'Public DNS resolver that protects you from ad trackers' - AGPL-3.0, Go, 963 stars, 82 forks, 161 open issues, created 2018-12-12, last push 2026-10-19, topics incl. adblock, dns-over-https, dns-over-quic, dns-over-tls, dnscrypt, golang, open-source, privacy. This is the open-source AdGuard DNS server codebase (the hosted service's engine), one of 90+ public AdguardTeam repositories.

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · established track record
arctic-shift.photon-reddit.com mixed

arctic-shift Reddit archive: r/Adguard comments (body=adguard, limit 25)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): 25 recent r/Adguard comments (Sept-Nov 2026). Signal mix: an 'AdGuard DNS down today' cluster (US Family config affected, Czechia fixed by unchecking AdGuard DNS filter + OISD Big, Sky Q box vs TV inconsistency), a Spain latency complaint (London hop + encryption noticeable, asks for closer servers), a 'based in Russia' attack comment in the sale thread, AdGuard Home recommended for third-party blocklists and client control, an unanswered-support-mail complaint, ambivalence about trusting it for banking-app-adjacent use, and AdGuard staff actively troubleshooting in-thread (VPN startup, private-browser YouTube ads). NOTE: the instructed body=dns variant and the r/pihole body=adguard variant both returned HTTP 422 (arctic-shift rate-limit/query failure mode) - noted in data_quality.

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · known site, treat as indicative
arctic-shift.photon-reddit.com mixed

arctic-shift Reddit archive: r/ControlD thread 1me80d0 via link_id endpoint

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): 'I tested the top free DNS ad blocking services with the default configuration (NextDNS, Control D, Mullvad, AdGuard, LibreDNS, CleanBrowsing)' (Aug 2025, 27 comments). The thread itself was contentious (OP's methodology attacked by Control D staff and commenters; AI-graph accusations; deleted comments), with useful meta: DNS blockers cap at 78/100 on adblock-tester because cosmetic filtering is impossible at the DNS layer; 'they all use same blocklists'; the iOS-app-plus-Safari-extension pattern to cover what DNS cannot; several users comparing AdGuard DNS vs Control D and one current AdGuard user shopping for a better-tested alternative. Retrieved via the link_id thread endpoint after body-searches 422ed.

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · known site, treat as indicative
hn.algolia.com mixed

HN comment search: 'adguard dns' (comment index)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200): recent HN voices span 2025-2026 - easy-setup endorsements ('Or just use these AdGuard DNS servers, no infrastructure setup needed' with the 94.140.x.x IPs; 'dns.adguard-dns.com in your phone DNS settings'; 'works wonders on Android' with the public-Wi-Fi caveat), satisfied system-wide setups (HaGeZi lists + content blockers; router + Smart-TV blocklists exposing LG telemetry), a self-hosted AdGuard DNS server account with iOS DNSSEC timeouts and upstream RTT measurements (Quad9 70ms / HE 20ms / Cloudflare 2-3ms), a NextDNS refund-refugee switching to AdGuard DNS, the Spanish ECS/La Liga workaround, the archive.today blocking-pressure discussion, and honest reminders that uBlock Origin 'does so much more' than any DNS blocker. Full texts cited individually in voices.

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · established track record
hn.algolia.com mixed

HN story index: 'adguard dns' (story index)

Fetched live 2026-11-03 (HTTP 200, 49 story hits): canonical threads - 'AdGuard DNS: A Privacy-Oriented DNS Server' (Dec 2018, 196 points, 107 comments), 'AdGuard DNS v2.0 goes open source' (Aug 2022), 'New AdGuard DNS milestone: the open beta' (Mar 2022), 'Reimagining AdGuard DNS' (Sep 2021, relaunch into the dashboard product), 'AdGuard DNS Outage' (Oct 2021, status.adguard.com incident link), and the major 2025 item: 'Our investigation into the suspicious pressure on Archive.today' (Nov 15, 2025, 1,816 points, 443 comments) plus its first submission (Nov 14, 2025, 18 points) - the community's most-visited AdGuard DNS story on record. Also: 'AdGuard Home v1.0 Beta' (Oct 2026).

source dated n.d. · verified by us 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200 · established track record

AI fact summary - everything we know, compressed

Generated by Qwen3 on 2026-11-03 from our fact database plus the linked sources. It summarizes - it does not add facts. Check anything that matters against the linked sources.

Bottom line: AdGuard DNS is a widely used encrypted DNS resolver that blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains across all devices by filtering at the domain level. It does not hide your IP, change your location, or encrypt traffic beyond DNS queries. It’s free for basic use, $19.99/year for the full personal dashboard, and works without apps - just configure DNS settings.

The logging truth: The public resolver claims no personal data is processed, but retains an anonymous 24-hour rolling database of requested domains (explicitly unlinkable per policy). The private service logs DNS queries by default - including device names, company owners of domains, and optional subnet-limited IPs - with retention and logging configurable and disableable in settings. Logging claims are policy-only; no independent audit or transparency report exists. Jurisdiction is Cyprus (GDPR-compliant), though the company originated in Russia.

Pricing reality: The Personal plan costs $19.99/year (about $1.67/month) with no lower intro rate - this is the standard price. There’s no bait pricing, but the lack of a discounted first term means no financial incentive to start. AdGuard VPN subscribers get the Personal DNS plan free. Payments go through Paddle, no crypto accepted.

What reviewers say vs what users say: Reviewers like Privacy Guides and privacytools.io recommend the public resolver for its privacy safeguards, open-source code, and ease of setup, rating it as a solid entry-level DNS blocker. However, user complaints on Reddit highlight recent reliability issues: October-November 2026 saw dashboard outages and missing query logs, slow email support, and latency outside major regions. Some users distrust the Russia-founded origin despite Cyprus incorporation. Reviewers appear neutral or affiliate-tied (privacytools.io has an affiliate link), while users report real-world hiccups that don’t break core functionality but affect trust.

Who runs it: AdGuard DNS is operated by Adguard Software Limited, registered in Limassol, Cyprus. The company was founded in Moscow, Russia in 2009 and later relocated to Cyprus, positioning itself as GDPR-compliant and user-funded. The team maintains open-source infrastructure and publishes detailed technical and legal responses, but the Russian origin remains a reputational friction point for some users.

Sources & how this review was built

Every external source used on this page, with the date we fetched it and its evidence class [A]-[D] (A = primary/operator, B = serious press/research, C = community, D = our own measurements). Methodology: how we verify. Sources disappear or change - if a link is dead, tell us via contact.

Evidence classes on this page: [A] A: 7[B] B: 6[C] C: 5[D] D: 0 (D stays empty until our own test phase)

  1. [1][A] operator adguard-dns.io - Product homepage ('Your privacy protection center') fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  2. [2][A] operator adguard-dns.io - Pricing page (license.html) + embedded USD tariff JSON fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  3. [3][A] operator adguard-dns.io - AdGuard DNS Privacy Policy (August 6, 2024) dated 2024-08-06 · fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  4. [4][A] operator adguard-dns.io - Connect to public AdGuard DNS servers (setup guide + endpoints) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  5. [5][A] operator adguard-dns.io - About us (AdGuard company) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  6. [6][A] operator adguard-dns.io - Knowledge base (DNS docs) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  7. [7][A] operator status.adguard.com - AdGuard status page (Statuspage) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  8. [8][B] news Wikipedia - AdGuard - Wikipedia (full article) dated 2026-11-03 · fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  9. [9][B] news Wikipedia REST API - AdGuard page summary (API) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  10. [10][B] news adguard-dns.io (operator blog) - Behind the complaints: Our investigation into the suspicious pressure on Archive.today dated 2025-11-13 · fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  11. [11][B] watchdog privacyguides.org - DNS Resolvers - recommendations (Privacy Guides) dated 2026-09-03 · fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  12. [12][B] review privacytools.io - PrivacyTools.io app page: AdGuard DNS (4.4/11 ratings) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  13. [13][B] review work-management.org - AdGuard DNS Review 2026 (SaaSmart Ltd editorial) dated 2026-09-27 · fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  14. [14][C] community github.com (API) - AdguardTeam/AdGuardDNS repository (GitHub API) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  15. [15][C] community arctic-shift.photon-reddit.com - arctic-shift Reddit archive: r/Adguard comments (body=adguard, limit 25) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  16. [16][C] community arctic-shift.photon-reddit.com - arctic-shift Reddit archive: r/ControlD thread 1me80d0 via link_id endpoint fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  17. [17][C] community hn.algolia.com - HN comment search: 'adguard dns' (comment index) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200
  18. [18][C] community hn.algolia.com - HN story index: 'adguard dns' (story index) fetched 2026-11-03 · HTTP 200

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Alternatives to AdGuard DNS (same kind)

Comparable providers of the same kind only - a free app is never "an alternative" to a commercial VPN. Ranked by the same deterministic score.

Lantern (Brave New Software)

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United States privacy tool 45 d ago

Control D (premium encrypted DNS resolver)

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Canada - CONTROLD, Inc., Toronto, Ontario; operator about-us page states 'Founded in 2021 - Toronto, Canada' and site footer reads '2026 CONTROLD, Inc.'; free-dns FAQ calls it 'based in Toronto, Canada... the sister company of Windscribe' privacy tool 9 d ago

Hysteria2 (QUIC/UDP-based censorship-resistant proxy)

Hysteria 2 is not a VPN provider - it is free, MIT-licensed proxy software you deploy on your own server, and this dossier treats it that way: there is no…

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none - Hysteria is not a company; it is MIT-licensed open-source software (Go) developed by a volunteer community around lead developer 'Toby' (GitHub: tobyxdd), with the repo on GitHub and docs at hysteria.network privacy tool 9 d ago