PiHole vs Adguard Home
PiHole vs Adguard Home
Hello all, Historically I've used my Rasp Pi 5 as my firewall running Pi Hole. I recently bought a new WiFi 7 router that includes built-in Adguard Home support, and was trying to compare the two but couldn't find any recent reviews of both. I was wondering if anyone had used both or could link to a good recent comparison article. My main concern is that while Adguard Home is currently free, that could change and I already have the Rasp Pi set-up with PiHole, so there's no additional cost via either route.
The differences in experience between these options are minimal. Most users favor one interface over the other, with little variation in overall feel. Consistent performance and comparable features make it hard to pinpoint a clear advantage. It’s possible either side could eventually need licensing, just like Pi-Hole.
The main factor making PiHole more likely to stay free than Adguard is its open-source nature, allowing me to use the latest version while Adguard Home relies on a company. I've experienced several instances where products were taken offline, so I've been shifting toward open-source alternatives.
When it doesn’t cause discomfort, maintain the pihole and turn off AdGuard. As mentioned, the setup afterward feels almost the same.
Adguard Home is available under the open source license, accessible on GitHub at https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdGuardHome. It seems somewhat contradictory since the company operates as a for-profit entity, yet their browser extension, DNS server, and AdGuard Home are openly shared. Other adblock solutions are not covered in their own documentation, which they reference here: https://adguard.com/en/blog/adguard-open...olicy.html. We think that when an application is free and prioritizes user privacy, such projects should be transparent—this app must remain open source.
I forgot to reply earlier! Actually, I understand now. My router manages DHCP reservations and the Pi-Hole takes care of DNS. It functions like part of the "firewall" by controlling which queries are permitted, though it doesn’t enforce blocking directly.