Mullvad DNS vs NextDNS: Privacy Comparison
In this comprehensive privacy comparison, we analyze Mullvad DNS and NextDNS across six critical dimensions: data collection practices, encryption implementation, third-party data sharing, user privacy controls, transparency, and historical track record. Both services serve similar needs, but their approaches to user privacy differ significantly. Our analysis reveals that NextDNS offers a meaningfully better privacy experience overall, though each service has relative strengths and weaknesses worth understanding in detail.
Reading the Scorecard
The most useful starting point is the overall tally and the single dimension that decided it. Across the six privacy dimensions we score, NextDNS finishes ahead of Mullvad DNS, 41/60 to 35/60. That total reflects a side-by-side review in which one service is consistently the more privacy-respecting choice, even though both cover the same functional ground.
Most of the distance between these services opens up on Data Collection: Mullvad DNS 5/10 versus NextDNS 6/10. The tightest race is Data Collection, separated by just 1 point (Mullvad DNS 5/10, NextDNS 6/10). The deeper analysis that follows shows how the lead was built.
Data Collection Practices
Data collection is the foundation of any privacy assessment. The extent to which a service collects, retains, and processes user data directly determines the privacy risks associated with its use. NextDNS demonstrates more restrained data collection practices, gathering only the minimum data necessary for service functionality. The other service collects a broader range of data including behavioral patterns, device identifiers, and usage analytics that extend beyond core service requirements. We scored Mullvad DNS 5/10 and NextDNS 6/10 in this category. The difference reflects not just the volume of data collected but the purpose and necessity of that collection.
Encryption Standards
Encryption guards user data as it moves and while it sits at rest, and how well it is built differs enormously from one service to the next. NextDNS puts tougher encryption in place, with sturdier protocols shielding data in transit and stronger safeguards for what is stored. The two implementations part ways on coverage (which data actually gets encrypted), on strength (which algorithms and key lengths back it up), and on whether end-to-end encryption is in play (which keeps even the provider from reading user content). For encryption, Mullvad DNS scored 6/10 while NextDNS scored 7/10.
Sharing Data With Outside Parties
How services share data with third parties is a critical privacy dimension. This includes sharing with advertising networks, analytics providers, business partners, and in response to government requests. NextDNS maintains more restrictive policies regarding third-party data access. The data sharing practices affect not just privacy but also the security of user information, as each additional party with access represents a potential breach vector. Scores: Mullvad DNS 7/10, NextDNS 8/10.
Controls You Can Actually Use
How much say people have over their own data depends on whether the privacy controls a service offers are both present and actually useful. That spans opt-out switches for data collection, the ability to download and delete information, fine-grained permission settings, and how simply users can act on the rights granted to them under relevant privacy regulations. NextDNS delivers broader, easier-to-reach privacy controls. Scores: Mullvad DNS 8/10, NextDNS 9/10.
How Clearly They Explain Themselves
Transparency comes down to how plainly a service explains what it does with data. It shows up in how readable the privacy policy is, whether transparency reports are published, how quickly privacy questions get answered, and whether policy changes are communicated up front. NextDNS comes across as the more transparent of the two overall. Plain, easy-to-find privacy communication is the bedrock of informed consent and trust. Scores: Mullvad DNS 4/10, NextDNS 5/10.
Historical Track Record
A service's history of privacy incidents, regulatory actions, and responses to vulnerabilities provides important context. NextDNS has a stronger historical record on privacy, with fewer incidents and more responsible handling of the issues that have arisen. Past behavior is often the best predictor of future privacy practices. Scores: Mullvad DNS 5/10, NextDNS 6/10.
Overall Verdict
When the full analysis is tallied, Mullvad DNS finishes at 35/60 and NextDNS at 41/60. On privacy grounds, the overall winner is NextDNS. Both products meet similar functional needs, yet the winner brings a more privacy-respecting approach to the dimensions that carry the most weight. Still, perfection is off the table for any service, so no matter which you choose you should actively set up its privacy options. Our advice is to round out your pick with additional privacy tools, a VPN, DNS-level ad blocker, and privacy-focused browser, to assemble a thorough privacy posture. Should your threat model call for the strongest privacy possible, weigh whether an even more privacy-focused alternative exists in this category beyond the two compared here.