Which Is Better: Custom DNS, Smart DNS, or a VPN?
We’ve compared custom DNS, Smart DNS, and VPN services by their average speeds, ability to bypass geo-restrictions, security benefits, and more.
In the table below, you’ll see which solution is the winner in each testing category. Here’s a summary of the results:
Testing Category |
VPN |
Smart DNS |
Custom DNS |
Speed |
Loser |
Loser |
Winner |
Unblocking Geo-Restrictions |
Winner |
Winner |
Loser |
Bypassing Censorship |
Winner |
Loser |
Loser |
Privacy & Security |
Winner |
Loser |
Loser |
Torrenting & P2P |
Winner |
Loser |
Loser |
Gaming |
Loser |
Winner |
Loser |
Compatibility |
Loser |
Winner |
Winner |
Ease of Use |
Winner |
Loser |
Loser |
Price |
Loser |
Loser |
Winner |
The best way to protect your privacy and unblock streaming content is to use a VPN service. If you need to bypass geo-restrictions on a device that does not support VPNs, use Smart DNS, which is often cheaper too. Here’s some advice on when to use each option:
Use a VPN if:
- You want to unblock streaming services or protect your torrenting activity
- You want to avoid ISP throttling your internet speeds
- You want to hide your IP address and evade surveillance online
- You need to safely bypass online censorship
Use Smart DNS if:
- You want to unblock streaming services on a device that cannot install a VPN, such as a games console or Smart TV.
Use a custom DNS server if:
- You want to avoid your ISP’s default DNS servers
- Your default DNS servers are slow, unreliable, or unsecure
- You aren’t concerned with streaming geo-blocked content
Speed Winner: Custom DNS
A custom DNS server can actually speed up your internet connection because you can use DNS resolvers that are faster than your ISP’s. It doesn’t encrypt your traffic or reroute it through a proxy server, which means it’s faster than Smart DNS or VPN services.
Smart DNS does not encrypt your data either, which means there is also minimal speed loss. However, it still needs to redirect your traffic to a DNS server in your chosen location, which does incur a small time penalty.
![Smart DNS speed test](https://www.top10vpn.com/images/2022/04/smart-dns-speed-test.jpg)
Our tests show Smart DNS had a minimal speed loss.
VPN services encrypt your data and reroute it through a remote server, which means they will almost always slow down your connection slightly. This speed loss can reach 30% or more depending on your VPN provider and the physical distance between you and the VPN server.
In our tests, the fastest VPN services reliably measure speed losses of 5% or less. This means their effect on your internet connection is negligible, and they’re more than fast enough to stream HD content without issues.
Unblocking Geo-Restrictions Winner: VPN & Smart DNS
Custom DNS will not unblock streaming services, but VPN services and Smart DNS will work equally well.
In fact, Smart DNS is often more reliable at bypassing region restrictions than VPNs. MediaStreamer Smart DNS, for example, consistently works with both US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, among other streaming services.
![Streaming US Netflix with MediaStreamer](https://www.top10vpn.com/images/2022/02/netflix-mediastreamer.jpg)
MediaStreamer worked with US Netflix more often than any VPN server.
However, using a full VPN application gives you more control over the country you access. This enables you to unblock a wider range of Netflix libraries than a Smart DNS service. It can also bypass firewalls that block streaming services.
Bypassing Censorship Winner: VPN
Custom DNS and Smart DNS can help to evade some forms of censorship when imposed at the DNS level.
By changing your DNS servers, it’s possible to evade your ISP’s DNS system and bypass any DNS-based content filtering. It’s also possible to bypass parental control solutions that use DNS queries to block prohibited content.
A VPN is the best way to safely unblock websites in highly-censored countries.
However, a VPN is the best way to safely unblock websites in highly-censored countries. A VPN will hide your IP address and encrypt your data where Smart DNS does not.
Top-rated VPNs also include obfuscation technology, which disguises VPN traffic as normal HTTPS traffic to help it bypass national firewalls.
Privacy and Security Winner: VPN
Some custom DNS solutions can improve your online security. For example, Google Public DNS benefits from mitigations against DNS cache poisoning attacks, which your ISP might not have in place.
Smart DNS will reroute your DNS requests, but it will not hide your IP address or encrypt your data. Your ISP can see what you are doing online, and can throttle your streaming connection.
Using a VPN is by far the best option for improving your privacy and security. The VPN software will hide your IP address and encrypt your data using robust ciphers like AES-256, which means your ISP cannot monitor your activity.
Torrenting Winner: VPN
Torrenting without a VPN can be dangerous. Without protection, you risk revealing your activity and identity to your ISP, copyright trolls, and other torrenters in the swarm.
Smart DNS and Custom DNS do not hide your IP address, which means they will not keep you safe while torrenting.
![Using ExpressVPN with the qBittorrent torrent client](https://www.top10vpn.com/images/2022/03/expressvpn-torrenting-test.png)
ExpressVPN is fully compatible with BitTorrent clients.
If you torrent using a VPN, the IP address that other users see will be associated with the VPN server you are connecting to, which means it cannot be used to identify you.
Price Winner: Custom DNS
You’ll have to pay for a reliable Smart DNS or VPN. It’s expensive to maintain the infrastructure required for those services, so free alternatives are likely to be unreliable and may include bandwidth restrictions.
Standalone Smart DNS services are often cheaper than premium VPNs. However, most VPN services usually offer a trial period or a money-back guarantee, which means you can test them before you commit.
Public DNS services are available for free from companies such as Google and Cloudflare.
Device Compatibility Winner: DNS & Smart DNS
Custom DNS and Smart DNS work virtually everywhere. Any device that connects to the internet needs to access a DNS server. If you can change your device’s DNS settings, you can use custom DNS or Smart DNS.
This makes Smart DNS a great choice for unblocking region-restricted content on devices such as Smart TVs, PS4 or 5, or Xbox.
Most VPNs provide native applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. However, it’s much harder to install them on devices like Smart TVs and games consoles, which do not allow VPN applications to be installed.
There are some exceptions to this rule, most notably Roku devices. Instead you’ll have to use one of our recommended VPNs for Roku to unblock streaming content.
You can install a VPN on your router to protect every device on your home network, but this is not a simple process.