Both VPNs and DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) promise to protect your online privacy, but they do very different things. Understanding the distinction is crucial for making informed security decisions.
What a VPN Does
A VPN encrypts ALL internet traffic between your device and the VPN server. Your ISP sees only that you're connected to a VPN — not which sites you visit or what data you send.
What DNS-over-HTTPS Does
DoH only encrypts DNS queries (website name lookups). Your ISP can't see which domains you're resolving, but they can still see the IP addresses you connect to and the volume of data transferred.
Comparison
- Privacy level: VPN (high) vs DoH (moderate)
- Speed impact: VPN (noticeable) vs DoH (negligible)
- Cost: VPN ($3-12/month) vs DoH (free)
- Complexity: VPN (app install) vs DoH (browser setting)
Recommendation
Use DoH as a minimum baseline — enable it in your browser settings (Firefox, Chrome, Edge all support it). Add a VPN if you're on public Wi-Fi, want to hide your activity from your ISP, or need to appear in a different location. For most people, a reputable VPN like Mullvad or Proton VPN provides the strongest privacy.
