The short answer. If you want to switch resolvers quickly from the menu bar, DNS Easy Switcher, or DNS Optimizer if you also want to benchmark them. If you edit the hosts file, Gas Mask, Hosts PrefPane or SwitchHosts. If you want a resolver that filters at the network level rather than on this machine, NextDNS. The distinction that matters is local versus networked: hosts-file tools work offline and apply to one machine; a filtering resolver applies everywhere but is a service you now depend on.
This guide covers 6 dns and hosts tools for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNS Easy Switcher | network utility | Open source | MIT | 1.0.7 |
| DNS Optimizer | network utility | Free | not published | 1.5 |
| Gas Mask | developer tool | Open source | not published | 0.8.6 |
| Hosts.prefpane | developer tool | Open source | GPL-3.0 | 1.4.5 |
| NextDNS | Mac utility | Free | not published | — |
| SwitchHosts | developer tool | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 5.0.2 |
What actually decides this
- Hosts file or resolver. A hosts entry maps one name to one address and works offline. A resolver change affects every lookup on the machine. They overlap for ad blocking and diverge completely for anything else.
- How the change is undone. A tool that cannot restore the system default reliably is dangerous, because a broken resolver looks exactly like a broken network. Check this first.
- Whether it can measure anything. Benchmarking resolvers sounds useful and mostly reports your current link latency. Treat any number here as a snapshot of the moment, not a property of the resolver.
- What it sees about you. A filtering resolver sees every lookup from every device. That is a real trade against blocking everywhere, and it is worth making deliberately.
Our picks
- DNS Easy Switcher — Its record describes a menu bar tool for switching providers or custom resolvers, which is the narrow version. Choose it when you want to change resolver from the menu bar and nothing more.
- DNS Optimizer — Its record describes a DNS changer with performance benchmarking, which is the same job plus measurement. Choose it when you also want to benchmark resolvers before choosing one.
- Gas Mask — Its record describes a hosts file manager, which is the direct tool for that file. Choose it when you live in the hosts file.
- SwitchHosts — Its record describes hosts management and switching, which is the multi-profile case. Choose it when you switch between several hosts files for different projects.
- NextDNS — Its record describes a network-level firewall for the modern internet, which is the everywhere case rather than the one-machine case. Choose it when you want filtering on every device rather than on this Mac.
The apps
DNS Easy Switcher
DNS Easy Switcher is a network utility for macOS. Menu bar tool for switching DNS providers or custom resolvers. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Easy switching between popular DNS providers. Disable DNS Overrides (DHCP-Provided DNS). Add and manage your own custom DNS servers. Test DNS speed to find the fastest provider.
DNS Easy Switcher is listed with current version 1.0.7.
Full profile and verified facts for DNS Easy Switcher →
DNS Optimizer
DNS Optimizer is a network utility for macOS. A DNS changer and performance‑benchmarking tool for Apple devices (macOS & iOS). It is free.
What it does. Experience faster, safer, and more private internet browsing with DNS Optimizer—the ultimate DNS changer and benchmark app for your iPhone,….
DNS Optimizer is listed with current version 1.5.
Full profile and verified facts for DNS Optimizer →
Gas Mask
Gas Mask is a developer tool for macOS. Simple hosts file manager for Mac OS X. It is open source.
What it does. Hosts file manager for macOS.
Gas Mask is listed with current version 0.8.6.
Full profile and verified facts for Gas Mask →
Hosts.prefpane
Hosts.prefpane is a developer tool for macOS. System preference pane to manage your hosts file. It is released under GPL-3.0.
What it does. a Cocoa GUI for /etc/hosts.
Hosts.prefpane is listed with current version 1.4.5.
Full profile and verified facts for Hosts.prefpane →
NextDNS
NextDNS is a Mac utility for macOS. The new firewall for the modern Internet. It is free.
What it does. NextDNS protects you from all kinds of security threats, blocks ads and trackers on websites and in apps and provides a safe and supervised Internet for kids — on all devices and on all networks.
Full profile and verified facts for NextDNS →
SwitchHosts
SwitchHosts is a developer tool for macOS. Free and open-source app for hosts management & switching. It is released under Apache-2.0.
What it does. Manage system, local, remote, group, and folder hosts entries. Switch hosts quickly from the main window or system tray. Syntax highlighting for hosts files. Find and replace across hosts entries.
SwitchHosts is listed with current version 5.0.2.
Full profile and verified facts for SwitchHosts →
How to choose
- Free of charge. DNS Optimizer and NextDNS — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. DNS Easy Switcher, Gas Mask, Hosts.prefpane and SwitchHosts — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
Open source: DNS Easy Switcher, Gas Mask, Hosts.prefpane and SwitchHosts (4 of 6).
Common mistakes
- Changing the resolver and then being unable to reach anything. The failure and a dead network look identical, and the fix is to set it back to automatic.
- Blocking a domain in the hosts file and forgetting it is there three months later when something stops working.
- Trusting a resolver benchmark. Almost all of them measure your current link to the nearest anycast node.
- Pointing a whole household at a filtering resolver without telling the other people in it.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these dns and hosts tools?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 6 dns and hosts tools: DNS Easy Switcher, DNS Optimizer, Gas Mask, Hosts.prefpane, NextDNS and SwitchHosts. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these dns and hosts tools free?
Pricing across this group: open source (DNS Easy Switcher, Gas Mask, Hosts.prefpane and SwitchHosts) and free (DNS Optimizer and NextDNS). We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these dns and hosts tools are open source?
DNS Easy Switcher (MIT), Gas Mask (not published), Hosts.prefpane (GPL-3.0) and SwitchHosts (Apache-2.0) are open source.
Do these dns and hosts tools support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
