NextDNS vs NoorI: Which DNS Filter Is Right for Blocking Porn?

Same layer, different goals

If you're technical, NextDNS is probably the first thing you think of for DNS-level filtering, and it deserves that reputation. It's fast, flexible, cheap, and full of power-user features. NoorI also filters at the DNS level, so on paper the two look interchangeable. In practice they're built for different jobs. NextDNS is a configurable resolver you point devices at. NoorI is a managed Cloudflare Zero Trust deployment built for people who want a porn or distraction block that the person sitting at the keyboard can't just switch off, and that includes themselves.

What NextDNS offers

From NextDNS's own site in October 2026, the highlights are:

• Security filtering: threat intelligence feeds, Google Safe Browsing, cryptojacking, DNS rebinding, typosquatting, newly registered and parked domains
• Privacy filtering: ad and tracker blocklists, native OS tracking protection and disguised third-party tracker detection
• Parental controls: category blocking (porn, gambling and more), SafeSearch and YouTube Restricted Mode, app and game blocking, a "Recreation Time" schedule and a "Block Bypass Methods" toggle
• Unlimited denylist and allowlist entries, DNS rewrites, DNSSEC and a customisable block page
• Logs kept from one hour up to two years (or turned off), stored in a region you pick (US, EU, UK or Switzerland), with detailed analytics
• DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS, setup profiles and apps, and router support

There's a free tier with 300,000 queries a month. After that, DNS keeps resolving but filtering stops until the next month. A low-cost Pro plan removes the limit, and all plans include unlimited devices and configurations. Prices are shown in your local currency, so check their site for current pricing.

How NoorI works

NoorI creates a private Cloudflare Zero Trust Gateway location for your account. You don't need a Cloudflare account, because NoorI provisions and manages it. Devices enroll with the official Cloudflare One app (the WARP client) on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, which sends the device's DNS through Gateway on every network, whether that's home Wi-Fi, mobile data or a café hotspot. From the NoorI dashboard you set:

• Category, app and exact-domain block rules
• Safe search enforcement
• Schedules per policy, and Pause Internet
• URL-path rules (block example.com/some/path rather than all of example.com) in browsers, using the optional NoorI certificate, which also gives you a branded block page

NoorI also automatically adds a rule that blocks attempts to override DNS on enrolled devices while the tunnel is active. Our bypass guide explains what that does and doesn't cover.

The real difference: who holds the off switch

With NextDNS, anyone who can log into the account can change the configuration, and anyone with admin access to the device can usually remove the profile or change the DNS settings. For a family that's mostly fine, because the parent holds the password. For someone blocking porn for themselves, it's the whole problem. You are the admin, and the setting is a few clicks away in exactly the moment you least want it to be.

NoorI's Guardian mode (Pro and Family) is built for that case. After a trusted person accepts your invite, any change that loosens protection needs their approval. That includes editing or deleting a rule, pausing, disconnecting or removing the guardian. Approval starts a delay you set when you configured it (minimum four hours), and only then does a 30-minute editing window open. You can always add new blocks without asking. It's friction designed around how urges actually work. They're intense and short, and a four-hour wait outlasts most of them.

NextDNS vs NoorI, side by side

NextDNS

• Architecture: a hosted resolver you point devices or routers at, using DoH, DoT, setup profiles or apps
• Strengths: security and ad or tracker blocking, analytics, flexible log retention and location, DNS rewrites, router-wide coverage
• Porn and distraction blocking: category blocklists, SafeSearch, app blocking and Recreation Time
• Self-lock: none built in. Whoever has the account login can change the settings.
• Granularity: domain level
• Pricing: free up to 300,000 queries a month, then a low-cost Pro plan with unlimited devices

NoorI

• Architecture: a per-account Cloudflare Zero Trust Gateway location, with devices enrolled via Cloudflare One (WARP)
• Strengths: one dashboard for porn, app and distraction rules, protection that stays on across networks, and a guardian approval lock
• Porn and distraction blocking: categories, apps, exact domains, safe search, schedules and Pause Internet
• Self-lock: Guardian mode, with another person's approval plus a mandatory delay
• Granularity: domain level, plus URL paths in browsers with the NoorI certificate
• Pricing: free for 1 device (Basic preset). Pro is $9.99/month or $95.99/year for 10 devices. Family is $17.99/month or $172.99/year for 20 devices.

When NextDNS is the better choice

• You want a general-purpose resolver, with ad and tracker blocking, security feeds and analytics, more than an accountability tool.
• You want to filter a whole network at the router, including smart TVs, consoles and other devices that can't run an enrollment app. NoorI enrolls individual phones and computers. See our home network guide for that tradeoff.
• You need lots of devices for very little money, or fine control over log retention and storage region.
• You don't need a lock because the person who can change the settings isn't the person being filtered.

Plenty of technical users are better served by NextDNS, and we'd rather say so than pretend otherwise.

When NoorI is the better choice

• You're blocking porn or distractions for yourself and know the weak point is your own access to the settings.
• You want filtering that stays on across Wi-Fi and mobile data through an always-on tunnel, rather than depending on per-network DNS settings.
• You want path-level rules in browsers, not just domains.
• You'd rather not manage a resolver and want sensible category and app rules without assembling blocklists yourself.
• Privacy is non-negotiable. NoorI sees only the domains contacted and whether each was allowed or blocked, never page content, search terms or messages.

Trying NoorI

The free plan covers one device. Follow the quick start, run your normal day on it for a while, and check the activity log to see exactly what was allowed and blocked. If you want the deeper technical picture first, read how DNS filtering works. If you're weighing up app-based porn blockers too, see the BlockerX comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Is NextDNS good for blocking porn?

NextDNS can block porn well through its parental control categories, SafeSearch enforcement and bypass-blocking option. Its main limitation for self-control is that anyone with the account login can change the settings, so it works best when someone else holds the password.

Can you lock NextDNS settings so you can't turn them off?

NextDNS has no built-in approval or delay mechanism for settings changes. The common workaround is letting someone else hold the account password. NoorI's Guardian mode builds this in: loosening the filter needs a trusted person's approval, followed by a mandatory delay.

Is NoorI built on NextDNS?

No. NoorI provisions a private Cloudflare Zero Trust Gateway location for each account and enrolls devices with Cloudflare's official Cloudflare One app. You don't need a Cloudflare account.

Can DNS filtering be bypassed with a VPN?

A separate VPN app sends traffic through its own tunnel, so it can bypass any DNS filter, NoorI included. NoorI blocks manual DNS changes on enrolled devices, and pairing it with OS-level app install restrictions closes most of the remaining gap.

Does NextDNS or NoorI work on a router?

NextDNS supports router-level setup, which covers every device on the network. NoorI enrolls individual devices such as phones and computers, so protection follows them off your home network, but it isn't set up at the router.