CleanBrowsing review

CleanBrowsing is a DNS filtering service for families, schools, businesses, and public networks. Instead of routing all web traffic through a filtering service, it filters DNS requests: the lookups devices make to find websites. A commenter in one Reddit thread cautioned that this does not mean all internet traffic passes through a filter.

The service says it blocks web-based malware, phishing attempts, botnets, command-and-control attacks, and adult content. Administrators can also block other categories, including social networks, enforce SafeSearch on Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, and restrict YouTube viewing modes. Custom profiles let administrators apply different rules to groups of devices. CleanBrowsing supports DNS over HTTPS, DNS over TLS, and DNSCrypt, and offers log retention settings from no logs to 90 days.

That makes it a network-level control, not a replacement for endpoint security or a tool that inspects every page and connection.

CleanBrowsing combines family content controls with DNS security and gives administrators room to set different rules for different device groups. That is useful when a household, school, or organization needs more than one blanket filter. SafeSearch enforcement across three search engines and YouTube restrictions add controls beyond blocking domain names.

The plans have published capacity limits, so buyers can compare them before switching. According to the pricing page, Basic costs $8.99 per month, or $6.25 per month with annual billing, and covers up to 25 devices or 3.75 million requests per month. It includes five networks, five dynamic devices, three profiles, 100 allowed domains, and 500 blocked domains. Pro 50 raises the limits to 50 devices or 7.5 million requests, five profiles, and 250 allowed and 1,000 blocked domains; it costs $15 monthly or $12.50 per month billed annually.

There is also a free plan, though the published pricing information does not publish its limits. An MSP partner program starts at $10 per customer account per month and includes a centralized management console, according to the pricing page.

The caps matter if you are filtering a larger or more segmented network. Basic stops at 25 devices or 3.75 million requests per month, three profiles, five networks, and 100 allowed domains. Pro 50 doubles the device and request ceilings but still has five profiles. Pro 100 costs $30 monthly or $25 per month billed annually and allows up to 100 devices or 15 million requests, 10 profiles, and 500 allowed domains. Larger deployments need a custom quote; the pricing page does not publish a Custom price.

CleanBrowsing is also only as useful as the network’s DNS configuration. In one Reddit thread, a user struggled to get home-network traffic filtered; a commenter explained that DNS filtering handles DNS traffic, not all traffic, and that dynamic DNS can help identify the customer when a home IP address changes. That setup distinction can trip up buyers expecting a full traffic tunnel or a plug-and-play security layer.

The free plan’s caps and features are not published on the vendor's site, so we would not assume it can cover a particular network. Check device or request volume, profile count, and domain-rule limits before switching.

CleanBrowsing has a free plan, but the published pricing details don’t list its limits. Paid plans start at $8.99/month for Basic, or $6.25/month when billed yearly. Basic covers up to 25 devices or 3.75 million requests a month, with 3 profiles, 5 networks, and caps of 100 allowed and 500 blocked domains.

Pro 50 costs $15 monthly or $12.50/month billed yearly. It raises the caps to 50 devices or 7.5 million requests and 5 profiles. Pro 100 costs $30 monthly or $25/month billed yearly, for up to 100 devices or 15 million requests, 10 profiles, and API access. That is a $15 monthly jump from Pro 50, or $12.50 on the annual equivalent.

Custom pricing is not published for deployments above 100 devices or 15 million requests. The MSP partner program starts at $10/month per customer account. Annual prices are per-month equivalents billed yearly, not month-to-month rates.

The published material doesn’t specify migration steps, setup time, or whether profiles and rules can be imported. Before switching, inventory your devices, networks, request volume, profiles, and domain rules, then compare them with the plan caps: even Pro 100 is capped at 100 devices or 15 million requests a month. Larger deployments need a custom quote, which isn’t published.

CleanBrowsing lists log retention from no logs to 90 days, but the published details don’t say whether logs, profiles, or rules can be exported. Confirm that before you move, especially if you need records for audits or want to reuse existing policies. The published material includes no Reddit posts or comments, so we can’t substantiate what users report as reasons for leaving. Based on the published information, likely decision points to check are the device and request caps, the profile limits, and whether custom pricing or export options meet your needs.