WebTitan is TitanHQ’s DNS filtering solution and has been a popular service since its introduction in 2009.
But with newer, more advanced solutions on the market such as Control D, how does it stack up?
This article compares WebTitan and Control D, analyzing them against the following criteria:
- Plans
- Pricing
- General Features
- Clients, Applications, and Integrations
- Analytics & Reporting
- Support
Plans
WebTitan does not have tiered plans; it can be bought as an individual service or combined with another TitanHQ solution, such as SpamTitan or EncryptTitan. However, it should be noted that WebTitan is only available to MSPs or end users.
Similarly, Control D does not offer tiered plans either. Instead, it keeps it simple by offering the full service to all users, but a distinction is made between organization types as this impacts pricing.
Pricing
WebTitan’s MSP pricing model is unknown, as users must now contact their sales team or book a demo to discuss costs. However, the service was advertised at $4/user/month for end users, so it’s likely that MSPs get a slightly lower rate.
Note: WebTitan can be bundled together with other TitanHQ solutions, but this will hike up costs further.
On the flip side, Control D has a simple and transparent pricing model:
- Enterprise – $2/Endpoint/month
- MSP – $1/Endpoint/month
- School/Non-Profit – qualify for a further discounted rate
General Features
Blockable Services
A standout feature of Control D is the ability to block specific Services, an option missing from WebTitan’s offerings.
Services are individual websites, platforms, vendors, tools, or applications that you can block, bypass, or redirect.
For example, you might want to block Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger while keeping access to all other social media platforms.
Instead of creating custom block rules or complex lists, Control D streamlines the process with a simple toggle in the Services tab.
Control D goes beyond basic content filtering by offering over 1,000 Services across 16 categories, allowing you to fine-tune your filtering policies to match your organization's or team's unique needs.
Geo-Custom Rules
Control D gives you Geo-Custom Rules, a handy feature that lets you block, redirect, or bypass DNS queries based on their origin or destination. You can create rules for queries originating from specific IP addresses, those resolving to certain IP ranges, or even those tied to specific ASNs or countries.
This allows you to restrict access to content from particular regions or networks while granting unrestricted access to others, giving you precise control over your DNS traffic.
This level of customization isn’t available with WebTitan.
👉 Read our documentation for more information on Geo-Custom Rules and its benefits
Traffic Redirection
Another feature that sets Control D apart is Traffic Redirection. This allows you to reroute traffic through a proxy server, effectively spoofing your IP address without a VPN.
With access to over 100 exit locations across 60+ countries, Traffic Redirection lets you decide exactly how and where your DNS queries are routed. You can choose to redirect all network traffic through a default location or selectively route specific Services.
For example, you could configure most of your DNS traffic to flow through a server in the U.S. while routing Spotify and YouTube through Japan for localized content.
WebTitan does not offer this feature.
Blocks Ads & Trackers
WebTitan allows you to block a content category called Online Ads. This is defined as web pages that exclusively advertise pop-up ad content, graphics, or banners.
In reality, ads are injected into all web pages, not just on specific domains. For instance, you may see ads when visiting a news site or a blog. WebTitan will not block those ads, but Control D will.
Control D blocks ads on all web pages and goes a step further by also blocking trackers. There are three block modes to choose from:
- Relaxed – blocks very common ads and tracking domains
- Balanced – blocks more domains than Relaxed but still allows some ads and trackers to load
- Strict – blocks all known ad and tracking domains.
Clients, Applications, and Integrations
Cross-Platform Support
Control D offers full cross-platform support, including Linux, iOS, and Android devices.
WebTitan is not compatible with these device types.
Single Sign-On
Control D has Single Sign-On capabilities using OIDC with Okta, allowing for streamlined user authentication, centralized access management, and simpler onboarding.
WebTitan does not offer this feature.
👉 Read our guide on how to integrate Control D with Okta
Analytics and Reporting
Query Log and Report Retention
Control D stores query log data for 7 days, whereas WebTitan stores data for 60+ days.
In terms of reports, Control D allows you to view and generate reports from the last 30 days with hourly time-series granularity or from the last year with daily time-series granularity.
WebTitan offers reports from 60+ days ago.
SIEM Log Streaming
Control D integrates with SIEM tools, allowing you to stream query log data for real-time threat warnings and data analysis.
This feature is not available with WebTitan.
Custom Data Storage Region
Having your data storage region in either North America, Europe, or Australia should serve most compliance needs. However, should you require a custom storage region, Control D offers this at an additional cost.
WebTitan does not offer this feature at all.
Support
Community Support
Control D stands out with its strong community support on platforms like Discord and Reddit, giving users a space to connect, share tips, and troubleshoot together.
On top of that, the Suggest a Feature option lets you contribute directly to the platform’s evolution by submitting ideas or voting on popular requests.
This is something WebTitan does not offer.
Chat Support
Control D takes chat support to the next level with Barry, an advanced machine learning-powered chatbot.
Barry is designed to handle nearly all queries instantly, pulling from the wealth of knowledge from Control D’s engineers and documentation to provide quick and accurate solutions.
If there’s ever a question beyond Barry’s scope, you can easily escalate your question to a support team member directly through the chat.
WebTitan does not offer chat support functionality.
Final Thoughts
WebTitan is a dependable solution for DNS filtering and web protection needs, but Control D can certainly hold its own in many aspects.
Given the vast cost difference between the two and the customizability offered by Control D, we're confident in our assessment that Control D is the superior DNS filtering service.
Control D provides more advanced features, offers extensive customizability options, and has significantly more cross-platform support, ensuring all end-user devices in your network are fully protected.
