# Alternatives to Blocky

Fast Go DNS proxy for homelabs.

Blocky ranks #2 of 6 in Network ad blockers, with an Alt Score of 90. It is licensed under Apache-2.0, free from Free and available on Linux, Windows and macOS. 9 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/blocky/
Category: Network ad blockers

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Home and small-network admins who want ad- and tracker-blocking DNS for every device on their network, without relying on per-device apps or browser extensions.
- **What you get**: A single self-hosted Go binary that blocks ads and trackers via configurable blocklists, allowlists, and regex rules, with DNS caching and prefetching for faster lookups. It supports modern encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT, DoQ, DoH3) alongside plain UDP/TCP, plus DNSSEC validation and per-client/group configuration. Prometheus metrics, Grafana dashboards, and query logging are built in, with no telemetry or data collection by the project itself.
- **How it works**: Blocky sits between client devices and upstream DNS resolvers, filtering, caching, and optionally rewriting queries before forwarding them on. It runs stateless (no database), configured entirely through a YAML file, and ships as a single binary or Docker/Kubernetes deployment.

## Profile

- **License**: Apache-2.0 (verified 2026-07-08)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-08)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-08)
- **Platforms**: Linux, Windows, macOS
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-08)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [AdGuard Home](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/adguard-home.md) | 100 | GPL-3.0 | Linux, Windows, macOS |
| 2 | [ControlD](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/controld.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 3 | [NextDNS](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nextdns.md) | 85 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 4 | [Pi-hole](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/pi-hole.md) | 85 | EUPL-1.2 | Linux |
| 5 | [Technitium](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/technitium.md) | 85 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, Linux, macOS |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Network ad blockers checklist | Blocky | AdGuard Home | ControlD | NextDNS | Pi-hole | Technitium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Free | Freemium | Freemium | Donationware | Donationware |
| Starts at | Free | Free | ? | €1.99/month | Free | Free |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | EUPL-1.2 | GPL-3.0 |
| Platforms | Linux, Windows, macOS | Linux, Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Web | Linux | Windows, Linux, macOS |
| DNS-level blocking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Blocklist management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-device policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| DoH / DoT support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Query logging & dashboard | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Whitelisting UX | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Parental controls | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Blocky. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Blocky is a DNS proxy and ad-blocker for the local network written in Go”
- **Starts at**: Free — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Blocky is a DNS proxy and ad-blocker for the local network written in Go”
- **Platforms**: Linux, Windows, macOS — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Note: Single Go binary; runs on any OS Go supports.
  - Quote: “Supports x86-64, ARM, and MIPS architectures -> runs fine on Raspberry PI and OpenWrt routers”
- **Status**: active — <https://api.github.com/repos/0xERR0R/blocky/releases/latest> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Note: tag_name": "v0.33.0", "published_at": "2026-06-30T08:22:25Z""
- **License**: Apache-2.0 — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xERR0R/blocky/main/LICENSE> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Apache License
Version 2.0, January 2004”
- **DNS-level blocking**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Blocking of DNS queries with external lists (Ad-block, malware) and allowlisting”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Single binary
Stateless (no database, no temporary files)”
- **Blocklist management**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/configuration/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Blocky can use lists of domains and IPs to block (e.g. advertisement, malware, trackers, adult sites)”
- **Per-device policies**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/configuration/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “You can define, which blocking group(s) should be used for which client in your network”
- **DoH / DoT support**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/configuration/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Blocky supports DNS resolvers with following network protocols: tcp+udp, https (DoH), tcp-tls (DoT), quic (DoQ).”
- **Query logging & dashboard**: Partial — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/prometheus_grafana/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Note: Query logging built-in; dashboard via external Grafana (no native web UI).
  - Quote: “Blocky can optionally export metrics for Prometheus. Example Grafana dashboard definition as JSON”
- **Whitelisting UX**: Yes — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/configuration/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “If the same group has both allow/denylists, allowlists take precedence.”
- **Parental controls**: Partial — <https://0xerr0r.github.io/blocky/latest/configuration/> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Note: No dedicated feature; via client groups + schedules.
  - Quote: “Definition of allow/denylists per client group (Kids, Smart home devices, etc.)”
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/0xERR0R/blocky/main/LICENSE> (verified 2026-07-08)
  - Quote: “Apache License
Version 2.0, January 2004”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/