ad blocker · ControlD Inc

Control D

DNS service that blocks ads, trackers and malware domains on a whole network, with free public resolvers and paid plans from $30 a year.

73/100

#4 of 12 ad blockers
Facts checked 8 Oct 2026

In short

Free public DNS resolvers block ads, trackers and malware with no account¹.
The cheapest paid personal plan, Some Control, is $30 a year ($2.50 a month)¹⁰.
Custom rules take up to 10,000 domains, with wildcards and folders³.
Its command-line DNS proxy, ctrld, runs on Windows under the MIT licence; the setup utility is not listed as open source⁹.
Terms offer a refund within 7 commercial days of payment, with conditions¹¹.

Control D suits people who want ad, tracker and malware blocking by DNS on every device, plus their own domain rules, at $30 a year^1,3,10. Its free resolvers need no account¹. The catch: its filter list names no cookie-consent pop-up filter, and a browser that uses its own encrypted DNS can bypass a system setting^2,4.

Best for: People who want to filter every device by DNS and write their own domain rules.

Where the points come from

Where it blocks23 of 23

Blocking16 of 26

Privacy and trust10 of 20

Price24 of 31

Where it blocks 23 of 23 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Windows browsers	Chrome, Edge, Firefox, OperaThe ctrld service sends all DNS queries on the PC to Control D, so every browser is filtered; the browser guide names Chrome, Edge and Firefox^9,4.	12 / 12
Blocks outside the browser	YesThe Windows guide sets the DNS server of a network interface, a system-wide setting. The vendor says free DNS blocks on all devices^5,12.	5 / 5
Phone protection	iOS, AndroidiOS uses a DNS profile; Android uses the Private DNS setting^6,7.	6 / 6

Blocking 16 of 26 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Still works in Chrome after Manifest V2	YesA DNS service that needs no app, so blocking happens outside the browser extension system¹².	4 / 4
Your own block rules	YesCustom rules block, bypass or redirect single domains, with wildcards. The page names no plan restriction³.	7 / 7
Malicious site blocking	YesMalware and Phishing are named filters, with a Malware filter on the free resolvers^2,1.	5 / 5
Cookie pop-up blocking	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's filters page, which lists no cookie-consent filter².	0 / 4
No ad allow-list on by default	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's free DNS or filters pages^1,2.	0 / 6

Privacy and trust 10 of 20 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Open source	Not publishedThe ctrld proxy is MIT licensed; the Windows setup utility is not listed as open source⁹.	0 / 10
No browsing history kept	YesFree DNS says it does not log queries. Paid accounts can set analytics to No Analytics^12,8.	6 / 6
Works without an account	YesFree public resolvers work without an account¹.	4 / 4

Price 24 of 31 points

Rule	What is published	Points
Free plan	YesFree public resolvers with an Ads & Tracking filter, no time limit and no account¹.	12 / 12
Cheapest paid plan	$2.50/moSome Control, the cheapest paid personal plan, is $30 a year¹⁰.	9 / 12
Devices on one paid plan	Not publishedNot published on the vendor's pages^10,1.	0 / 4
Money-back guarantee	YesTerms give a refund if requested within 7 commercial days of payment, under four conditions, including no earlier free trial¹¹.	3 / 3

The rule behind each line: how we score ad blockers.

Plans and prices

As the vendor lists them, before tax. Prices are in US dollars unless the plan shows euros; the points use US dollars, with euros converted at the ECB rate.

Plan	Price as listed	Per month	Notes
Free DNSAnyone	Free¹	$0	Public resolvers with Ads & Tracking or Malware filters; no account, no custom rules
Some ControlPersonal	$30/year¹⁰	$2.50	Also $3 a month billed monthly
Full ControlPersonal	$60/year¹⁰	$5	Also $6 a month billed monthly

Prices come from the vendor's public product data. It lists no device limits or plan contents¹⁰.

Strengths

Free resolvers block ads, trackers or malware and need no account¹.
Custom rules let you block, bypass or redirect single domains, with wildcards, up to 10,000 rules³.
The ctrld DNS proxy is public under the MIT licence and has Windows builds⁹.
Free resolvers do not log queries, and paid accounts can turn analytics off per device^12,8.
Setup guides cover Windows, iOS and Android without a browser extension^5,6,7.

Limits

The free resolvers cannot take custom rules or combine filters¹.
The filter list has no cookie-consent pop-up filter².
A browser using its own DNS-over-HTTPS can ignore the system DNS setting⁴.
The refund clause refers to commercial plans and excludes anyone who used a free trial¹¹.
Only the ctrld proxy is listed as open source, not the Windows setup utility^9,5.

What ControlD Inc says

Vendor claims. We show them, but they earn no points.

Control D says it has a 99.98% malware block rate¹³.

Other ad blockers

1
uBlock OriginPeople who want a free, open-source blocker with their own filter rules
95/100
$0cheapest paid plan
2
GhosteryPeople who want a free, open-source blocker with cookie pop-up handling
82/100
$0cheapest paid plan
3
AdGuard DNSPeople who want device-wide blocking and a plan with their own rules
77/100
$1.67/mocheapest paid plan
5
NextDNSPeople who want one blocker for every app and device on the network
71/100
$1.86/mocheapest paid plan

All 12 ad blockers

Sources

Free DNS Resolvers, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Filters, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Custom Rules, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Browsers, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Windows, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
iOS, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Android, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Analytics, Control D docs. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Control-D-Inc/ctrld, GitHub. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Pricing for Personal Use (plan data loaded by the page), Control D. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Terms of Service, Control D. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Free DNS, Control D. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.
Control D home, Control D. Accessed 8 Oct 2026.

Website: controld.com · Markdown version · We are not affiliated with ControlD Inc.