# Cloudflare DNS vs Unbound

| Attribute | Cloudflare DNS | Unbound |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 45.7 (62% (medium)) | 47.6 (15% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 31 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 4,979 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A nameserver system that converts domain names to IP addresses using a global network infrastructure to deliver rapid, resilient query responses. Includes a fully-featured, unrestricted API for infrastructure-as-code automation. It is indexed under DNS Management.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","question":"What is Cloudflare DNS?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Cloudflare DNS offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $20 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","question":"Is Cloudflare DNS free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Cloudflare DNS supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","question":"What platforms does Cloudflare DNS support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Cloudflare DNS, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","question":"Can Cloudflare DNS be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Cloudflare DNS. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Cloudflare DNS not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/solutions/security","question":"What security certifications does Cloudflare DNS have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Cloudflare DNS is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the United States.","source":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","question":"Where is Cloudflare DNS available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A free DNS resolver software that encrypts user queries and validates domain lookups. Designed for privacy and performance, it supports modern encrypted DNS protocols and works across Linux, BSD, and macOS systems. It is indexed under DNS Management.","source":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","question":"What is Unbound?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Unbound is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the BSD-3-Clause licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","question":"Is Unbound free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Unbound supports macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","question":"What platforms does Unbound support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Unbound can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","question":"Can Unbound be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Unbound is published under the BSD-3-Clause licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/nlnetlabs/unbound","question":"Is Unbound open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Unbound is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the Netherlands.","source":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","question":"Where is Unbound available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A nameserver system that converts domain names to IP addresses using a global network infrastructure to deliver rapid, resilient query responses. Includes a fully-featured, unrestricted API for infrastructure-as-code automation. | A fast, lightweight DNS resolver that validates queries and caches responses. It supports DNS encryption (over TLS and HTTPS), minimizes data exposure to authoritative servers, and implements modern internet standards with a focus on security and privacy. |
| integrations.count | 2 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"Ansible"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | C |
| license.spdx | - | BSD-3-Clause |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"NL","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"$0/month","features":["Fast DNS","Unmetered DDoS Protection","CDN","Universal SSL Certificate","Free Managed Ruleset"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/month (annual) or $25/month (monthly)","features":["Fast DNS","Unmetered DDoS Protection","CDN","Universal SSL Certificate","Free Managed Ruleset","Lossless Image Optimization","Accelerated Mobile Pages","PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance","100% Uptime SLA","1x Uptime Service Credits","SSO Support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD","plus_note":"billed annually"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Professional websites that aren't business-critical","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$200/month (annual) or $250/month (monthly)","features":["Fast DNS","Unmetered DDoS Protection","CDN","Universal SSL Certificate","Free Managed Ruleset","Lossless Image Optimization","Accelerated Mobile Pages","PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance","100% Uptime SLA","10x (Standard) or 25x (Premium) Uptime Service Credits","SSO Support"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":200,"period":"month","currency":"USD","plus_note":"billed annually"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Small businesses operating online","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Contract","summary":"Custom pricing, billed annually","commitment":"annual","description":"Mission-critical applications that are core to your business","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Free tier available; paid plans from $20/month billed annually","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.cloudflare.com/plans","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T22:37:17.966Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://nlnetlabs.nl/projects/unbound/about/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T16:34:32.426Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | mid | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 50 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.26.1","date":"2026-09-16T08:22:30Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.26.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.26.0","date":"2026-08-04T08:00:13Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.26.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.25.2","date":"2026-07-22T09:18:40Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.25.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.25.1","date":"2026-05-20T09:17:20Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.25.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.25.0","date":"2026-04-29T09:56:24Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.25.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.24.2","date":"2025-11-26T11:22:30Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.24.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.24.1","date":"2025-10-22T10:28:00Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.24.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.24.0","date":"2025-09-18T08:36:55Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.24.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.23.1","date":"2025-07-16T09:20:27Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.23.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.23.0","date":"2025-04-24T08:07:21Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.23.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.22.0","date":"2024-10-17T08:43:37Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.21.1","date":"2024-10-04T10:42:01Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.21.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.21.0","date":"2024-08-15T08:56:18Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.20.0","date":"2024-05-08T09:06:15Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.19.3","date":"2024-03-14T09:26:00Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.19.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.19.2","date":"2024-03-07T09:09:39Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.19.1","date":"2024-02-13T12:54:31Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/releases/tag/release-1.19.0","date":"2023-11-08T09:54:09Z","type":"stable","version":"release-1.19.0"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 100 | - |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance","level":"4.0","status":"active"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://www.cloudflare.com/solutions/security | https://nlnetlabs.nl/security-report/ |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2FNLNetLabs%2Funbound&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:59:19.902Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*