Self-Hosted Alternatives to Cloudflare DNS
Why Replace Cloudflare DNS?
Privacy. Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 service sees every DNS query from your network. While they claim a privacy-first policy (no selling data, purging logs within 24 hours), you’re trusting a company with your entire browsing history. Self-hosting means your DNS queries never leave your network.
Ad blocking. Cloudflare DNS resolves everything, including ad and tracking domains. Self-hosted DNS lets you block ads, trackers, and malware at the network level — every device on your network benefits, including smart TVs, IoT devices, and guest phones that can’t install browser extensions.
Customization. Self-hosted DNS gives you conditional forwarding (route internal domains differently), split-horizon DNS (different answers for internal vs external queries), custom blocklists, per-client rules, and local DNS records for your homelab services.
No dependency on external infrastructure. When Cloudflare has an outage (multiple incidents in recent years), your DNS resolution fails. Self-hosted DNS with local caching keeps working even if your internet connection drops — cached entries still resolve.
Note: you can still use Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) as an upstream resolver for your self-hosted DNS server — getting the benefits of both.
Best Alternatives
Pi-hole — Most Popular Network Ad Blocker
Pi-hole is the original self-hosted DNS ad blocker. It runs a DNS server that blocks ads and trackers using filter lists, provides a web dashboard for monitoring queries, and works as a DHCP server. It’s been the gateway to self-hosting for hundreds of thousands of users. Massive community, extensive documentation, and proven reliability.
Best for: Users who want the most established, well-documented solution with the largest community and plugin ecosystem.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Pi-hole
AdGuard Home — Best Modern Alternative
AdGuard Home is a network-wide ad blocker with a modern UI, built-in DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS/QUIC support, safe search enforcement, and parental controls. It’s the most polished option for home networks and the easiest upgrade from Cloudflare DNS.
Best for: Users who want a modern UI with built-in encrypted DNS and parental controls. The closest to a “Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 for Families” replacement.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host AdGuard Home
Blocky — Best for Infrastructure-as-Code
Blocky is a lightweight DNS proxy configured entirely via YAML. No web UI — pure configuration file. It supports DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, conditional forwarding, per-client rules, and Prometheus metrics. Built from a scratch Docker image using 30 MB of RAM.
Best for: Users who want DNS configuration as code, Kubernetes/Docker-native deployments, and minimal resource usage.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Blocky
Technitium — Best Full DNS Server
Technitium DNS Server is a complete authoritative and recursive DNS server. Beyond ad blocking, it hosts DNS zones, handles DNSSEC, provides DHCP, supports clustering, and offers every DNS feature you’d find in enterprise DNS infrastructure. Replaces Cloudflare DNS plus BIND/PowerDNS.
Best for: Users who need a full DNS server (zone hosting, split-horizon, DHCP) alongside ad blocking.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Technitium
Migration Guide
Switching from Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1)
- Deploy your chosen DNS server following the linked guide above
- Configure upstream resolvers: Set your self-hosted DNS to forward queries to multiple upstream providers for redundancy:
- Cloudflare:
1.1.1.1,1.0.0.1 - Quad9:
9.9.9.9,149.112.112.112 - Google:
8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4
- Cloudflare:
- Add blocklists: All four options support the same blocklist URL format. Start with:
- Steven Black’s unified hosts:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts - OISD full:
https://big.oisd.nl/
- Steven Black’s unified hosts:
- Update your router’s DNS: Change your router’s DHCP settings to point clients to your self-hosted DNS server’s IP address
- Alternatively, update individual devices: On devices you want to protect, set DNS to your server’s IP
- Verify: Visit
ads-blocker.comord3ward.github.io/toolz/adblockto confirm ads are blocked
Preserving Encrypted DNS
If you used Cloudflare’s encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT), you can maintain that with self-hosted DNS:
- AdGuard Home: Built-in DoH/DoT/DoQ server
- Pi-hole: Use with
cloudflaredsidecar for upstream DoH - Blocky: Built-in DoH/DoT support (client and upstream)
- Technitium: Built-in DoH/DoT/DoQ server
Cost Comparison
| Cloudflare DNS | Cloudflare for Teams | Self-Hosted DNS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Free | $7/user/mo (Gateway) | ~$2/mo (electricity) |
| Ad blocking | No (1.1.1.1) / Limited (1.1.1.3) | Yes (policy-based) | Yes (full control) |
| Custom blocklists | No | Limited | Unlimited |
| Local DNS records | No | No | Yes |
| Per-client rules | No | Yes | Yes |
| DNS query logging | No (purged in 24h) | Yes | Yes (full control) |
| Data location | Cloudflare’s servers | Cloudflare’s servers | Your hardware |
What You Give Up
- Global anycast network. Cloudflare’s DNS resolves in <15ms globally because their servers are everywhere. Self-hosted DNS adds local processing time (typically <5ms) but upstream queries depend on your internet connection latency.
- Zero maintenance. Cloudflare DNS just works. Self-hosted DNS requires maintaining blocklists, monitoring the server, and handling updates.
- Malware protection. Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.2 (security) and 1.1.1.3 (family) tiers include malware domain blocking. Self-hosted achieves this with blocklists, but you maintain them.
- DDoS protection on DNS. Cloudflare protects against DNS-based attacks. Your self-hosted DNS is only as protected as your home network.
FAQ
Can I use Cloudflare DNS as an upstream resolver?
Yes — this is the recommended approach. Your self-hosted DNS handles local queries, ad blocking, and caching, then forwards external queries to Cloudflare (or Quad9, Google, etc.) over encrypted DNS. You get local control plus Cloudflare’s speed for external resolution.
Which self-hosted DNS should I pick?
For most home users: AdGuard Home. It has the best balance of features and simplicity. See our detailed comparisons: Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home, AdGuard Home vs Blocky, AdGuard Home vs Technitium.
Will this slow down my internet?
No. Self-hosted DNS with caching actually speeds up repeat queries (cache hit = <1ms vs 15ms+ for external DNS). First-time queries add negligible latency since the upstream lookup happens regardless.
Does this block ads on YouTube/apps?
DNS-based blocking works for ads served from separate domains. It doesn’t block ads served from the same domain as the content (like YouTube ads, which come from googlevideo.com). For those, you still need a browser extension.
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