Guides
Pi-hole or AdGuard Home: the differences
Pi-hole and AdGuard Home block ads and trackers for your entire network. They do the same thing, but work differently. Below are the differences at a glance. The step-by-step explanation is in our guide.
| Pi-hole | AdGuard Home | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Script on Linux, or Docker | Script, binary file or Docker |
| Initial setup | Installation script in the terminal | Setup wizard in the browser (port 3000) |
| Encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT, DoQ) | For upstream with additional settings | Built-in, also for your own devices |
| Rules per device | Via groups | Via clients, with custom settings |
| Community and documentation | Very large, many guides | Large and growing |
| Management | Web interface | Web interface |
| Open source | Yes | Yes (with a paid service from the same creators alongside it) |
Which one to choose?
- Pi-hole if you’re starting on a Raspberry Pi and want the largest amount of documentation and examples.
- AdGuard Home if you want to set it up in the browser, need encrypted DNS or want different rules per device.
You can also give it a try: install one, see how you like it, and switch if needed. The settings aren’t set in stone. For both, blocking happens by domain name: ads that come from the same address as the content won’t be blocked.
Examples of a compose.yaml for both are in our collection. More information about a network that separates your devices can be found at VLAN for your smart home.