NextDNS vs Net Optimizer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NextDNS
Encrypt all your DNS queries across all networks with this app. It leverages native iOS settings to bring your custom blocking policies and traffic analytics directly to your phone. Easily set up your configuration ID to enhance your online privacy and security.
- Encrypts all DNS queries
- Uses native iOS Encrypted DNS settings
- Apply custom blocking policies
- View traffic analytics and logs
- Configure with your NextDNS account ID
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NextDNS protects your device from ads, trackers, malware, and other harmful domains while keeping your internet activity private. All DNS traffic is encrypted, preventing networks and internet providers from seeing or manipulating your DNS queries. Protection across your device NextDNS works system-wide across apps and browsers. • Block ads and trackers automatically • Protect against malware, phishing, and malicious domains • Enable parental controls and content filtering • View analytics, query logs, graphs, and domain details in a native dashboard Easy setup Create your NextDNS profile in seconds or connect an existing one. Your configuration is managed at my.nextdns.io, where you control blocking rules, security settings, and privacy features. Control on iPhone and iPad The app lets you manage protection on your device: • Enable or disable NextDNS anytime • Temporarily pause protection and resume from a live activity • Optionally send your device name for easier identification in logs • Quickly unblock domains from the app • Exclude trusted Wi-Fi networks • Exclude specific domains and their subdomains so they use the system DNS resolver Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nextdns.io/privacy
Net Optimizer
This app optimizes your internet connection by finding and connecting to the fastest DNS server available. It helps improve web surfing speeds and reduces lag and latency for online gaming.
- Find fastest DNS server
- Improve web surfing speed
- Reduce gaming lag and latency
- Automatic network optimization
- Supports mobile data and WiFi
- Wide range of DNS server support
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What is the benefit of Net Optimizer? - Find & Connect the fastest DNS server based on your location & network. - Improve web surfing speed with faster response time. - Fix lag and reduce latency (ping time) on online games for a better gaming experience. Features - Just one touch to find & connect the fastest DNS server to improve your connection. - Automatically detect connection changes and optimize the network. - Works for both mobile data (3G/4G/5G) and WiFi connection - Supports many different DNS Servers (Cloudflare, Level3, Verisign, Google, DNS Watch, Comodo Secure, OpenDNS, SafeDNS, OpenNIC, SmartViper, Dyn, FreeDNS, Alternate DNS, Yandex DNS, UncensoredDNS, puntCAT, and more) How it works? If you have a high-speed Internet connection but notice that your web browsing speed isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, then your problem may lie in the DNS. By optimizing your device's DNS records, you can find the fastest routes for your data packets to take when traveling the Internet. It won’t boost to your download/upload speed, but in some cases it can result in quite a noticeable improvement in web browsing time. At times, you may experience slow hiccups while trying to use the internet from your device. Sometimes, these problems can be attributed to your provider's DNS settings because your ISP may not always have the best DNS server speeds. Your default DNS server directly affects how fast you’ll be able to connect to a website. So choosing the fastest server according to your location will help speed up browsing. With Net Optimizer, you can find the fastest DNS server and connect to it with just one touch! So your browsing speed and gaming experience (ping and latency) can be improved. (But you should remember that DNS settings will not affect your internet download / upload speed but response time) Results Test results showed a 132.1 percent improvement from using Google's DNS servers over using the stock DNS servers, but in real world usage, it might not be exactly that much faster. Still, this one tweak might get you finally feeling like you have a blazing connection to the internet! Privacy Policy: https://apps.bgn.capital/privacy.html Terms Of Use: https://apps.bgn.capital/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: NextDNS at none against Net Optimizer's shown. NextDNS also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Net Optimizer's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. NextDNS sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Net Optimizer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for NextDNS against 4.6 for Net Optimizer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 3.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of NextDNS's written reviews are positive against 70% of Net Optimizer's.
NextDNS ships an update every 6 weeks, Net Optimizer every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NextDNS | Net Optimizer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.8K ratings) | 4.6 (3.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.2% of reviews | 70.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K | 3.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | nextdns Inc. | Ali Burak Goncu |
Customer experience
NextDNS
Net Optimizer
User reviews
NextDNS
From 1.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient DNS service
- 🔒 Robust security and privacy features
- 👍 Simple and user-friendly setup
- 💡 Highly configurable with advanced options
- 🚀 Improves internet speed and performance
Room to improve
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Inability to disable on specific Wi-Fi networks
- 🐛 Inconsistent ad blocking performance
- 🔋 High battery drain on mobile devices
- 🐛 Lack of transparency on service status and outages
Net Optimizer
From 3.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Boosts internet speed
- 👍 Improves gaming performance
- 🚀 Increased download/upload speeds
Room to improve
- 🐛 Causes disconnections and freezing
- 🔋 Slows down device performance
- 🐛 Unreliable and inconsistent
Bugs and requests
NextDNS
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on launch for older iOS devices
- Profiles not working correctly after iOS 15 update
- Inability to remove the DNS profile from the device
- Connectivity issues when used in conjunction with a VPN
Requested features
5 requests- Add a quick toggle to enable/disable the service
- Integrate the web dashboard functionality into the app
- Provide more granular control over blocked content
- Implement a timed mode to temporarily disable the service
- Add support for DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT)
Net Optimizer
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login issues
- Frequent crashes
- Compatibility problems with older devices
Requested features
3 requests- More customization options
- Better server selection
- Improved compatibility with different devices
In-app purchases
NextDNS
- Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
Net Optimizer
- Net Optimizer 1 Month Premium$5.991 Month
- Net Optimizer 3 Day Free Trial3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Net Optimizer 1 Year Premium$39.991 Year
Questions
Is NextDNS free?
Is Net Optimizer free?
Which has better reviews, NextDNS or Net Optimizer?
Do NextDNS or Net Optimizer have ads?
Which is updated more often, NextDNS or Net Optimizer?
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