DNSFilter vs Cloudflare

A Cloudflare Gateway alternative for DNS filtering

Cloudflare Gateway is the DNS filtering product built to pair with a Cloudflare Access subscription. DNSFilter is a standalone protective DNS service with per-user reporting, bulk allow and block lists, and multi-tenant MSP management, and G2 users rate it higher on support, setup and admin.

At DNSFilter, our mission has always been to do one thing and do it well. While other competitors have a host of offerings, it usually means that their DNS filtering service doesn’t get the full attention it deserves. Cloudflare launched DNS filtering in 2020 as part of Cloudflare Gateway.

WHAT CLOUDFLARE IS MISSING

Cloudflare Gateway (Cloudflare’s DNS filtering product) is meant to integrate with their Cloudflare Access subscription. Because of this, Cloudflare Gateway is bare bones and lacks several features:

-No detailed reporting by location or user
-No bulk management of allow & block lists
-No business-grade rollup reports
-No branding for MSPs
-No multi-tenancy for resellers

For companies with upwards of thousands of end users and devices, lacking these features just isn’t an option. It basically means you have no visibility into your network and can’t be flexible as needs change across departments.

Features

DNSFilter

Cloudflare

Stable & Global Network

Domain Categorization

Desktop Roaming Clients

Mobile Roaming Clients

Per User Reporting

Imagery-based Anti-phishing

Bulk Block Lists

Branded for Resale

Query Logs

Advanced Analytics

G2 user satisfaction ratings: DNSFilter vs. Cloudflare
Metric	DNSFilter 4.6 / 5 · 272 reviews	Cloudflare 4.5 / 5 · 664 reviews
Quality of Support	91%	83%
Ease of Setup	92%	88%
Ease of Admin	93%	88%
Good Partner in Doing Business	93%	89%
Ease of Use	92%	90%
Threat Intelligence	88%	79%
Off-Network Protection	90%	79%
Likelihood to Recommend	92%	91%

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

DNS Filtration that just works

I haven't found anything I don't like about DNSFilter. I've never had issues with it or needed to troubleshoot it. It just works and it listens to me. Customer support is extremely responsive, gives quick and concise answers with little to no time wasted.

Does what the product claims; good value for the price

We use the product for handling business URL filtering. The DNS look ups are fast and the management of allow/deny lists is pretty easy. Reporting is useful. There are some cool features for granular management at an individual machine level. The price is quite reasonable for what it does. It's pretty much set and forget.

Its raining malware but I wont reach for my Umbrella, but DNS Filter instead

The ease of use and overall ability to block applications, limit search engines, block a number of threat types and add good sites to a whitelist or block a known bad site in a blacklist. Reporting is also the BEST I have seen as it is so easy to find good and bad blocks...allowing you to easily and daily to monitor and update lists as needed.

DNSFilter - A Fast, Easy, And Reliable DNS Filtering Solution

Setup and deployment were super easy. Support has been excellent. Overall, the product is a nice addition to our security stack, blocking threats at the DNS level.

DNSFilter Is A No Brainer. It Cost Less Than Its Competitors And Easy To Setup.

DNSFilter is easy to setup and configure. I was up and running in a day. It works on all OS platforms and doesn't interfere with our end users doing their jobs.

Compliance Level DNS Filtering

Provides client level installation for DNS filtering when outside of the building. Complements EndPoint and Firewall web filtering by processing all DNS requests through an active filter to help stop malware distribution. We can distribute the product uniquely using RMM to each customer and management and controls are customer unique.

Great platform, even greater customer support

It is incredibly easy to get started. The interface is very user-friendly. If you have any issues, the customer support chat is handy. You get connected to an actual human, not just a chatbot.

Fast to deploy, protect an entire network in a minute

Good web filtering for all our locations, we also deployed the roaming client to cover our users when they are outside the company network. It is also our first level of defense if there is a threat as the domain might be blocked before our EPP / EDR detect something.

Easy-to-use DNS security solution

I love how DNSFilter is constantly being updated with new features and security updates. This gives me peace of mind knowing that my business is always protected from the latest online threats.

Finally, a DNS filter that actually works!

DNSFilter has proven to be one of the easiest solutions to implement. The intuitive interface makes on-going administration a breeze. We're happy to know our internet security stack is protected and the accurate categorization of traffic has not interfered with approved business functions.

DNSFilter vs Cloudflare

A Cloudflare Gateway alternative for DNS filtering

DNSFILTER IS BUILT FOR MSPS

WHAT CLOUDFLARE IS MISSING