As far as free options go, OpenDNS is a reliable choice for people who want to save money on internet filter software. You have the option to pay to unlock even more features, but the free plan offers adequate protection to help keep your family safe online. 

OpenDNS enables you to filter what your children can see by 50 categories spanning across seven million potentially malicious domains, enabling you to thoroughly control what your children can and can’t access when browsing the internet at home.

In addition to its free plan, Open DNS offers a range of paid options that will give you access to even more tools to help protect you and your loved ones from internet dangers. These can include phishing scams, identity theft and various pieces of malware. 

The “VIP Home” option enables you to keep track of your internet statistics for up to a year, giving you an accurate and frequent supply of information regarding your family’s internet usage. Additionally, the VIP Home plan enables you to whitelist specific sites that may be wrongly filtered under the wrong category, giving you the ability to access them if they were blocked by mistake. 

OpenDNS also offers an extensive setup guide for multiple devices, meaning that you can easily set it up on anything from a home router to your child’s smartphone. The guide is thorough and easy to follow for people with limited knowledge of technology, making it accessible to everybody who wishes to set it up on their home devices. 

The major downside with OpenDNS is that a lot of the most important features are locked behind a paywall, meaning that some of the other options may be more tempting when it comes to aspects such as phishing and identity protection.