Alternatives to Pi-hole
The network-wide DNS sinkhole standard
Pi-hole ranks #5 of 6 in Network ad blockers, with an Alt Score of 85. It is licensed under EUPL-1.2, donationware from Free and available on Linux. 8 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Home users, small offices, and self-hosters who want to block ads and trackers across every device on their network at once, rather than installing per-browser extensions—especially useful for devices like smart TVs and mobile apps where extensions aren't an option.
A DNS-based ad and tracker blocker that filters traffic for every device on the network from a single install. Includes a web admin dashboard for real-time query logs, network statistics, whitelist/blacklist management, and blocking on/off controls. Also bundles an optional DHCP server for centralized device management and supports VPN setups to keep blocking active when away from home.
Pi-hole runs as a DNS server (on a Raspberry Pi, other Linux host, or Docker container) that your router or devices point to; it checks each DNS lookup against blocklists and returns a blocked response for known ad/tracker domains before the ad content is ever downloaded, while normal domains resolve as usual.
Why people leave Pi-hole
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Network ad blockers checklist (13 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Network ad blockers checklist | Pi-hole | AdGuard Home | Blocky | ControlD | NextDNS | Technitium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| DNS-level blocking | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Blocklist management | ||||||
| Per-device policies | ||||||
| DoH / DoT support | ||||||
| Query logging & dashboard | ||||||
| Whitelisting UX | ||||||
| Parental controls | ||||||
| Open source |
Every fact and feature listed for Pi-hole is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Donationware verified 2026-07-08
You can make a recurring monthly donation via GitHub Sponsors or Patreon.
https://pi-hole.net/donate/ -
Status active verified 2026-07-08
v6.4.3 · July 6, 2025
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/releases -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-08
Free: open source software that helps ensure you are the sole person in control of your privacy
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
License EUPL-1.2 verified 2026-07-08
EUROPEAN UNION PUBLIC LICENCE v. 1.2
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/master/LICENSE -
Platforms Linux verified 2026-07-08
Network-wide ad blocking via your own Linux hardware
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
DNS-level blocking Yes verified 2026-07-08
blocked queries will be answered with the 'unspecified address' (0.0.0.0 or ::)
https://docs.pi-hole.net/ftldns/blockingmode/ -
Self-hostable Yes verified 2026-07-08
Network-wide ad blocking via your own Linux hardware
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
Blocklist management Yes verified 2026-07-08
Updating Ad Lists
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
Per-device policies Yes verified 2026-07-08
it is possible to associate domains (and clients!) with any number of groups
https://docs.pi-hole.net/database/domain-database/groups/ -
DoH / DoT support Partial verified 2026-07-08
No native DoH/DoT; requires cloudflared/unbound upstream.
Cloudflare implemented DNS-Over-HTTPS proxy functionality into one of their tools: cloudflared.
https://docs.pi-hole.net/guides/dns/cloudflared/ -
Query logging & dashboard Yes verified 2026-07-08
a beautiful responsive Web Interface dashboard to view and control your Pi-hole
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
Whitelisting UX Yes verified 2026-07-08
Allowlisting, Denylisting (fka Whitelisting, Blacklisting), and Regex
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md -
Open source Yes verified 2026-07-08
Free: open source software that helps ensure you are the sole person in control of your privacy
https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/blob/master/README.md
FAQ
Yes. AdGuard Home, Blocky and ControlD have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
AdGuard Home, Blocky and Technitium — every license claim links its source.