
AdGuard vs Pi-hole: Taking Back Control of Your Internet with DNS Ad Blocking
Remember the days when browsing the internet didn't mean being bombarded with ads at every turn? At ENGINYRING, we've watched the online landscape transform from a relatively uncluttered space to one where advertisements fight for every pixel of screen real estate. It's no wonder so many of our clients are looking for effective ways to reclaim their browsing experience.
That's where DNS-level ad blocking comes in – a clever approach that stops ads before they even reach your devices. Two solutions have emerged as the front-runners in this space: AdGuard Home and Pi-hole. We've implemented both systems for numerous clients and want to share what we've learned to help you decide which might work better for your particular situation.
The Magic Behind DNS Ad Blocking
Before we dive into comparing these two tools, let's take a moment to understand what makes DNS ad blocking so effective. Unlike browser extensions that filter content after it starts loading, DNS blocking works at a much earlier stage in the process.
Think of DNS as your internet's phonebook. When you type "www.example.com" into your browser, your device needs to find that website's actual address (IP address). It sends a query to a DNS server asking, "Where can I find this website?" With a DNS ad blocker in place, these queries get checked against a list of known advertising and tracking domains.
When your device tries to contact an ad server, your DNS blocker essentially says, "Sorry, I don't have that number" – preventing the connection entirely. The beauty of this approach is that it:
- Works across your entire network, protecting all connected devices
- Uses very little processing power since ads are blocked before downloading
- Catches many trackers that browser-based blockers might miss
- Can significantly speed up page loading times
With that foundation in place, let's explore our two contenders.
AdGuard Home: Simplicity Meets Sophistication
At ENGINYRING, we've set up AdGuard Home for many clients, and we're consistently impressed by how accessible the entire process feels. Originally developed by the team behind the popular AdGuard browser extensions, this tool brings their filtering expertise to the network level. If you're curious about trying it yourself, we've created a detailed guide on setting up an AdGuard DNS server on your VPS hosting plan that walks through the process step by step.
The interface reminds us of modern smart home systems – clean, intuitive, and designed with visual clarity in mind. The dashboard presents statistics in a way that makes sense even if you're not particularly technical. You can immediately see how many queries have been processed, what percentage were blocked, and which domains are triggering the most blocks.
What we particularly appreciate about AdGuard Home is how it balances simplicity with powerful features. The system comes with sensible defaults that work well out of the box, but dig deeper and you'll find granular controls for tailoring the experience to your specific needs.
What Makes AdGuard Home Stand Out?
After implementing AdGuard Home for several ENGINYRING clients, we've found several aspects particularly noteworthy:
- Effortless setup: The installation wizard feels more like setting up a new smartphone app than configuring a network service. Even if you're new to self-hosting, the step-by-step guidance makes the process remarkably approachable.
- Resource efficiency: We've run AdGuard Home on modest hardware (including repurposed older servers) with excellent results. The memory footprint stays surprisingly small even as your blocklists grow.
- Built-in encryption: The integrated support for DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS means your DNS queries – often overlooked as a privacy concern – stay protected from prying eyes.
- Flexible rule system: The filtering rules support wildcards and regular expressions, giving you precise control over what gets blocked.
Of course, no system is perfect. During our testing and client implementations, we've noticed AdGuard Home sometimes requires more manual intervention to block certain types of ads that use sophisticated delivery methods. The community is growing but hasn't yet reached the critical mass needed for the extensive crowdsourced filtering lists you'll find with more established solutions.
For those interested in trying AdGuard Home, our Virtual Servers provide an ideal environment – they're lightweight enough to be cost-effective while offering the stability needed for a service you'll rely on daily.
Pi-hole: The Community-Driven Powerhouse
Pi-hole took a different path to prominence. Born as a project for the Raspberry Pi (hence the name), it grew organically through community contributions into a robust solution that now runs on virtually any Linux system. For those interested in experiencing Pi-hole firsthand, our step-by-step tutorial on installing Pi-hole on your VPS shows just how straightforward the process can be with the right guidance.
The first thing that strikes us about Pi-hole is its passionate community. Forums buzz with users sharing custom configurations, troubleshooting tips, and constantly updated blocklists. This collaborative approach has created a remarkably effective tool that benefits from thousands of eyes looking for new ad domains to block.
The Pi-hole interface feels more utilitarian than its AdGuard counterpart – less polished visually, but packed with information. This reflects its origins as a tool built by technical users for technical users, though recent versions have made significant strides in accessibility.
Where Pi-hole Truly Shines
After deploying Pi-hole across several client networks, we've identified key areas where it excels:
- Community-maintained blocklists: The ecosystem of filtering lists is unmatched, with specialized lists for everything from smart TV tracking to mobile app analytics.
- Detailed query logging: The ability to see exactly what's being blocked – and when – makes troubleshooting much easier when a legitimate service gets caught in the filters.
- Powerful regex filtering: Once you get comfortable with regular expressions, you can create incredibly precise filtering rules that catch even cleverly disguised ad domains.
- Teleporter feature: This handy tool lets you export your entire configuration and import it on another instance, making migrations or backups straightforward.
The trade-off comes in initial complexity. Setting up Pi-hole isn't difficult per se, but it assumes a certain comfort level with Linux and networking concepts. The learning curve is steeper, especially when something goes wrong and you need to troubleshoot.
For those who choose Pi-hole, our Proxmox Server Management services can be invaluable. We handle the technical underpinnings, letting you focus on configuring the ad-blocking aspects rather than worrying about system maintenance.
Real-World Differences You'll Notice
Technical comparisons are useful, but what really matters is how these tools affect your daily internet usage. Here's what we've observed with our clients in practice:
Initial Setup Experience
Installing AdGuard Home feels remarkably similar to setting up a new phone or smart home device. The visual installer walks you through each step, with helpful explanations along the way. You can go from download to functional ad blocking in about 15 minutes, even if you've never configured a DNS server before.
Pi-hole's famous one-line installer script works flawlessly, but it assumes you already have a Linux environment ready and know how to navigate it. The process feels more "behind the scenes" – you'll see terminal output scrolling by rather than visual confirmation of each step. For Linux enthusiasts, this is perfectly comfortable. For newcomers, it might be intimidating.
Day-to-Day Management
AdGuard Home's interface makes routine tasks intuitive. Adding a domain to your allowlist (for sites that break under filtering) takes just a few clicks. The organization of settings follows a logic that feels natural even to non-technical users.
Pi-hole's dashboard provides more granular information at a glance, but finding specific settings sometimes requires more exploration. The terminology also tends toward the technical side – you'll see references to "gravity databases" and "FTL" that might not immediately make sense to newcomers.
Both systems handle the core task of blocking ads admirably, with Pi-hole's edge in comprehensive blocklists balanced by AdGuard's more accessible tuning process when something doesn't work quite right.
When Things Go Wrong
In our experience working with clients, troubleshooting is where the biggest differences emerge. When a website breaks because of overzealous filtering (an occasional reality with any ad blocker), AdGuard Home makes it relatively easy to identify and whitelist the problematic domain.
Pi-hole gives you more troubleshooting data, but interpreting that data sometimes requires deeper technical knowledge. The flip side is that the extensive Pi-hole community means you can often find someone who's already solved your exact problem in the forums or subreddit.
For our business clients, this troubleshooting aspect is particularly important. Our cPanel Server Management and DirectAdmin Server Management clients often cite the peace of mind that comes with knowing we can quickly resolve any DNS issues that might arise.
Making Your Choice: Which DNS Ad Blocker Is Right for You?
After working with both systems extensively across different client environments, we've developed a fairly straightforward way to recommend one over the other.
AdGuard Home might be your better match if:
- You value a clean, intuitive interface over maximum customization
- You're new to self-hosting services and prefer guided setup processes
- You want built-in support for encrypted DNS without additional configuration
- You plan to run the service on modest hardware
- You prefer spending less time maintaining your ad blocker
Pi-hole might be the better choice if:
- You're comfortable with Linux and enjoy tinkering with system configurations
- You want access to the most extensive collection of community-maintained blocklists
- You need highly granular control over exactly what gets blocked
- You value a mature, battle-tested solution with extensive community support
- You enjoy being part of an active user community that shares configurations and tips
Setting Up Your Own DNS Ad Blocking Server
Whichever system you choose, you'll need somewhere to host it. While both can run on local hardware like a Raspberry Pi, many of our clients prefer the reliability of a proper server environment. At ENGINYRING, we've seen excellent results hosting these services on our Virtual Servers, which provide the perfect balance of performance and cost-effectiveness for this type of application.
For the best experience, we recommend:
- A VPS with at least 1GB RAM (though both systems can run on less)
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or Debian 11 as your operating system
- A fixed IP address to avoid reconfiguring your network after server reboots
- Regular backups of your configuration (both systems provide export options)
If you're planning to make your ad blocker accessible outside your home network (useful for protecting your devices while on the go), consider registering a dedicated domain through our Domain Registration service. This makes it much easier to configure secure access from anywhere.
Beyond Basic Ad Blocking: Building a More Private Network
One aspect often overlooked in discussions about DNS ad blockers is how they can form the foundation of a more comprehensive privacy system. Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole work beautifully alongside other privacy tools like VPNs and encrypted DNS resolvers.
For instance, you might set up your chosen ad blocker to forward queries to a privacy-focused DNS provider like Quad9 or NextDNS, adding another layer of protection. Or you could pair it with a self-hosted VPN to create a secure "bubble" that protects your devices even on public WiFi.
These kinds of multi-layered approaches represent the direction many of our clients at ENGINYRING are moving – building systems where no single point of failure can completely compromise privacy.
Final Thoughts: The Future of DNS Ad Blocking
As browser-based ad blocking faces increasing challenges from changes to browser extensions and websites employing more sophisticated anti-blocking measures, DNS-level blocking becomes increasingly valuable. It operates outside the browser's control, making it harder for advertisers to circumvent.
Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole continue to evolve rapidly, with new features and improved blocking capabilities in each release. The competition between them benefits users, as innovations from one often appear in the other over time.
Whichever you choose, you're taking a significant step toward reclaiming your online experience. The difference in browsing with and without effective ad blocking is dramatic – not just in terms of fewer advertisements, but in faster page loads, reduced data usage, and an overall cleaner web.
At ENGINYRING, we're committed to helping our clients implement these privacy-enhancing technologies effectively. If you have questions about setting up either system, don't hesitate to contact us – we're always happy to share what we've learned from implementing these solutions across many different environments.