Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home
Pi-hole and AdGuard Home compared as self-hosted DNS ad blockers for homelabs and VPS setups: platforms, encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCrypt), DHCP, per-client rules, regex blocking, web UI and API, licences and current 2026 releases.
Quick Answer
AdGuard Home is the better default if you want encrypted DNS: it speaks DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, DNS-over-QUIC and DNSCrypt both to upstreams and to your own clients out of the box, and ships as one binary for Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD and OpenBSD. Pi-hole is the pick for a Linux box or Raspberry Pi on a home LAN when you want its large community, group management and regex blocking; its upstreams are plain DNS, so encryption or recursive resolution means adding a local resolver such as unbound.
Last updated October 20, 2026. Covers Pi-hole v6 (core v6.5, FTL v6.8, web v6.6.1, released 17 October 2026) and AdGuard Home v0.107.79, with each project's current docs, licences and Pi-hole's cloudflared deprecation warning.
| Feature | Pi-hole | AdGuard Home |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Licence | EUPL-1.2 | GPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | Linux (7 officially supported distros); others via Docker | Linux, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD |
| Official Docker Image | Yes (pihole/pihole) | Yes (adguard/adguardhome), plus Snap |
| Encrypted Upstream DNS | No; plain DNS upstreams (add unbound or a DoH proxy) | Yes: DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCrypt |
| Serve Encrypted DNS to Clients | No (needs extra software) | Yes: DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCrypt |
| Built-in DHCP Server | Yes (DHCPv4 and DHCPv6, optional) | Yes |
| Per-Client / Group Rules | Yes, group management | Yes, per-client configuration |
| Regex Blocking | Yes, with Pi-hole extensions | Yes, /regex/ rules in DNS filtering syntax |
| Safe Search / Parental Control | Via blocklists; no built-in toggle | Yes, built-in parental control and safe search |
| HTTPS Admin UI | Yes, built into FTL (self-signed by default) | Yes (HTTPS for the admin interface) |
| REST API | Yes, REST API with self-hosted docs | Yes, REST API (OpenAPI spec) |
| Latest Release (Oct 2026) | Core v6.5, FTL v6.8, Web v6.6.1 (17 Oct 2026) | v0.107.79 (18 Aug 2026) |
Pi-hole
Network-wide DNS sinkhole built on its own FTLDNS resolver: devices use it as their DNS server, and queries for domains on subscribed blocklists are blocked, with a web interface, group management and an optional DHCP and NTP server.
Pros
- Largest community of the two: about 61k GitHub stars on the core repo, plus extensive docs and guides
- Group management applies blocklists, allowlists, denylists and regex rules to groups of clients
- Dedicated regex blocking docs, with Pi-hole extensions and approximate matching
- Pi-hole v6's FTL includes the web server: the admin UI and REST API are served over HTTPS with a certificate created at install time
- Light requirements: 512MB RAM and 2GB free disk, with pre-built FTL binaries for x86_64, armv6, armv7, armv8 and riscv64
- Built-in DHCP (IPv4 and IPv6) and NTP server as optional features
Cons
- Upstream servers are plain IP or hostname with port; DoH or DoT upstreams need a separate local resolver or proxy
- Pi-hole's own cloudflared DoH guide now warns that Cloudflare deprecated the proxy-dns feature and does not recommend new installs
- Officially supported only on Linux distributions (Alpine, Armbian, Debian, CentOS Stream, Fedora, Raspberry Pi OS, Ubuntu); elsewhere via Docker
- Cannot act as a DoH, DoT or DoQ server for your clients without extra software
- The default self-signed certificate triggers browser warnings until you add its CA or use your own certificate
Best For
Home networks and homelabs on a Raspberry Pi or Linux VM where you want fine-grained group and regex rules, a big community, and are happy to pair it with unbound for recursive DNS.
AdGuard Home
Network-wide DNS ad and tracker blocker from AdGuard, written in Go and distributed as a single binary, with built-in DNS encryption on both the upstream and client side, DHCP, per-client settings and a web UI on first run.
Pros
- Supports DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-QUIC out of the box, plus DNSCrypt as client and server
- Can run as your own encrypted DNS server for phones and laptops outside the LAN, and generates Apple configuration profiles for DoH/DoT
- Cross-platform single binary: install script for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD and OpenBSD, a Windows executable, Docker Hub image and Snap package
- Built-in phishing/malware blocking, parental control and enforced safe search toggles
- Access settings control which clients may use the server, which matters on a public VPS
- Documented REST API (OpenAPI spec in the repo) and a Home Assistant integration
Cons
- Smaller community than Pi-hole: about 37.5k GitHub stars
- Still on a 0.107.x version line, with the last stable release (v0.107.79) in August 2026
- Binding port 53 usually needs superuser privileges unless you follow the non-root setup steps
- Serving encrypted DNS publicly requires a domain, a TLS certificate and a server with a public IP
Best For
Anyone who wants encrypted DNS without extra components, runs on macOS, Windows or BSD, or wants a personal DoH/DoT/DoQ resolver on a VPS for devices away from home.
Encrypted DNS: the biggest functional gap
Both tools are DNS sinkholes: clients send queries to them, blocked domains get a null answer, and everything else is forwarded upstream. The difference is how that upstream hop and the client hop are protected. AdGuard Home's encryption docs say it supports DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-QUIC out of the box, and DNSCrypt both client-side and server-side. You can point it at an encrypted upstream resolver and also serve encrypted DNS to your own devices. It can generate configuration profiles so Apple devices use your server over DoH or DoT. Pi-hole's dns.upstreams setting takes IP addresses or hostnames with an optional port, for example 127.0.0.1#5335. That port syntax is how Pi-hole's own unbound guide works: run unbound locally as a recursive resolver and point Pi-hole at it. For DoH, Pi-hole's cloudflared guide now opens with a warning that Cloudflare deprecated the proxy-dns feature it relies on, and that new installs by that method are not recommended. If you want a resolver your phone can use over DoT from a coffee shop, AdGuard Home does it natively. With Pi-hole you would add a separate TLS-terminating DNS proxy or reach it over a VPN.
Platforms and installation
Pi-hole is a Linux project. Its prerequisites page lists officially supported distributions: Alpine, Armbian, Debian, CentOS Stream, Fedora, Raspberry Pi OS and Ubuntu, on systemd or sysvinit. It asks for 512MB RAM, at least 2GB free disk (4GB recommended), and a static IP or DHCP reservation. The pihole-FTL binary is pre-built for x86_64, armv6, armv7, armv8 and riscv64. Installation is a one-line script, a cloned repository, or the official pihole/pihole Docker image with a compose template in the docs. AdGuard Home is a single Go binary. Its README has an automated install script for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD and OpenBSD, an official Docker Hub image, and a Snap package; the getting-started guide covers running AdGuardHome.exe on Windows. First run opens a setup wizard on port 3000. Ports are similar: both need 53 for DNS, plus 67 (and 547 for DHCPv6 on Pi-hole) if you use DHCP. Pi-hole's FTL serves the web UI on 80 and 443 and falls back to 8080 and 8443 if those are taken, which avoids clashes with an existing reverse proxy on the same host. On a Docker host or a VPS already running Nginx Proxy Manager, plan these ports before installing either.
Blocking controls, per-client rules and family filters
Core blocking is equivalent: both subscribe to blocklists, support allow and deny entries, and apply settings per client. Pi-hole's strength is structure. Group management lets every subscribed list, allowlist, denylist and regex entry belong to zero, one or several groups, and clients belong to groups, so you can give the kids' devices a stricter set and turn a list off for one group temporarily. Its regex docs cover Pi-hole-specific extensions and approximate matching, which helps when blocking whole families of tracking subdomains. AdGuard Home leans on built-in switches. It has toggles for blocking phishing and malware domains, parental control and enforced safe search on search engines, plus access settings that restrict which clients may query the server. Custom rules use AdGuard's filtering syntax, and per-client settings can override the global ones. AdGuard's README table says Pi-hole needs non-default blocklists for malware and adult-content filtering and has no safe search enforcement; that is AdGuard's description, and in Pi-hole you would get the same effect by subscribing to category lists. AdGuard's README also notes a limit that applies to both: ads served from the same domain as the content, such as YouTube or Twitch ads and sponsored social posts, cannot be blocked at the DNS level.
Web UI, API, licence and release cadence
Pi-hole v6 moved the web server into FTL. The admin interface and REST API are served directly by pihole-FTL, over HTTPS with a self-signed certificate created at install time. Browsers warn until you trust the generated CA (tls_ca.crt) or supply your own certificate. The API is resource-oriented JSON, and each Pi-hole serves documentation matching its own version at /api/docs. Pi-hole is released as three components: on 17 October 2026 core reached v6.5, FTL v6.8 and the web interface v6.6.1. AdGuard Home's REST API is described by an OpenAPI spec in the repository, and a Python client powers the Home Assistant integration. Its README lists HTTPS for the admin interface as a built-in feature. The latest stable release is v0.107.79, published 18 August 2026. Licences differ in a way that matters only if you redistribute or modify: Pi-hole is EUPL-1.2 (except commits made to master before version 3.0), and AdGuard Home is GPL-3.0. Both are free to run with no paid tier. Community size favours Pi-hole, with about 61k GitHub stars on its core repository against roughly 37.5k for AdGuard Home, which shows in the number of third-party guides for each.
Verdict
Choose AdGuard Home if encrypted DNS matters to you or you are not on Linux: it does DoH, DoT, DoQ and DNSCrypt to upstreams and to your own clients with no extra software, runs as one binary on Linux, macOS, Windows and the BSDs, and has access controls that make it workable as a personal resolver on a VPS. Choose Pi-hole if it will sit on a Raspberry Pi or Linux VM inside your home network and you value its larger community, group management and regex tooling; pair it with unbound if you want recursive resolution instead of trusting a public upstream. Both are free, both block the same kind of thing, and neither can block ads served from the same domain as the content, such as YouTube ads.