Pi-hole and AdGuard Home are both popular network-wide ad and tracker blockers that function as local DNS servers. They intercept DNS queries from devices on your network and prevent connections to known ad-serving or malicious domains.
Core Functionality
Both applications serve the primary purpose of DNS-based filtering. By configuring your router or individual devices to use Pi-hole or AdGuard Home as their DNS server, you can achieve ad blocking across all connected devices without client-side software.
Key Differences
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Technology Stack:
- Pi-hole: Primarily built using Bash scripts, PHP for the web interface, and FTLDNS (a modified version of dnsmasq written in C) for DNS processing.
- AdGuard Home: Developed in Go, resulting in a single, portable binary that is generally efficient in resource usage.
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User Interface (UI):
- Pi-hole: Offers a functional and comprehensive web interface providing detailed statistics and configuration options.
- AdGuard Home: Features a web interface often considered more modern in appearance and user experience, with a focus on ease of use.
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DNS Features & Encryption:
- Pi-hole: Utilizes FTLDNS for DNS resolution. Support for encrypted DNS protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT) typically requires additional setup with companion software such as Unbound or cloudflared.
- AdGuard Home: Includes a built-in DNS server with native support for DoH, DoT, DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ), and DNSCrypt out-of-the-box. This simplifies the configuration of encrypted upstream DNS.
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Filtering Capabilities:
- Pi-hole: Primarily relies on host lists (blocklists) to identify and block domains. It supports regex and wildcard blocking.
- AdGuard Home: Also uses host lists but additionally supports AdGuard's own more complex filter list syntax, which can include cosmetic rules (though these primarily benefit AdGuard browser extensions/apps) and other advanced rules. It also offers features like Safe Search enforcement.
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DHCP Server:
Both Pi-hole and AdGuard Home can optionally function as a DHCP server for your network, which can simplify configuration by automatically assigning clients the ad-blocking DNS server.
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Platform Support and Installation:
- Pi-hole: Officially supported on several Linux distributions, with Raspberry Pi being a very common platform. Installation is typically performed via a script. Docker images are also available.
- AdGuard Home: Due to its Go-based nature, it is highly portable. Pre-compiled binaries are available for Linux, Windows, macOS, and FreeBSD. It also has official Docker images and is easy to deploy in various environments.
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Resource Usage:
AdGuard Home, being a single Go binary, is often perceived as lighter on system resources compared to Pi-hole's multi-component architecture, though both are relatively efficient for most hardware.
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Client-Specific Configuration:
- Pi-hole: Offers group management, allowing different blocklists and settings to be applied to specific groups of clients.
- AdGuard Home: Provides robust per-client configuration options directly within its UI, enabling distinct filtering rules, blocklists, and even different upstream DNS servers for individual devices.
Considerations
Choose Pi-hole if:
- You prefer a well-established project with a large community.
- You are comfortable with its underlying components (dnsmasq/FTL, lighttpd).
- Your primary need is straightforward, effective DNS sinkholing without built-in advanced DNS encryption protocols (or you are willing to configure them separately).
Choose AdGuard Home if:
- You prioritize built-in support for encrypted DNS protocols (DoH, DoT, DoQ).
- You desire a more modern UI and potentially simpler setup for advanced features.
- Cross-platform portability (including Windows/macOS native binaries) is important.
- You require more granular per-client filtering controls with ease.
Both are capable solutions, and the best choice depends on individual technical comfort, desired features, and specific use-case requirements.
