Pi-hole acts as a DNS sinkhole on your local network, blocking ads and trackers for every device — including smart TVs, phones, and game consoles — without browser extensions.
Each app below addresses a specific gap in Pi-hole's offering. We picked them based on real user review patterns and feature differentiation.
AdGuard Home is a self-hosted DNS ad blocker developed by AdGuard that runs on your local network. It supports DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS, has a modern web interface, and is easier to install than Pi-hole on non-Raspberry Pi hardware.
Explore AdGuard Home data →NextDNS provides cloud DNS filtering without needing local hardware. It supports DNS-over-HTTPS, per-device profiles, detailed analytics, and hundreds of blocklists. Requires trusting NextDNS with your DNS queries.
Explore NextDNS data →uBlock Origin is the most popular browser ad blocker, using curated filter lists to block ads, trackers, and malware domains in the browser. No hardware required, but it only protects the browser, not other apps or devices.
Explore uBlock Origin data →AdGuard DNS is a public DNS service that blocks ads and trackers at the DNS level without any software installation. You simply change your DNS settings to point to AdGuard DNS servers. Less customizable than Pi-hole but requires no setup.
Explore AdGuard DNS data →Technitium DNS Server is a full DNS server with ad blocking, DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, DNSSEC, split horizon, and a detailed web UI. More complex than Pi-hole but suitable for users who want a complete DNS server alongside blocking.
Explore Technitium DNS Server data →Blocky is a Go-based DNS proxy with ad blocking, custom DNS mappings, conditional forwarding, and metrics export (Prometheus/Grafana). Configured via a YAML file with no web UI, making it suitable for users who prefer code-based configuration.
Explore Blocky data →Pi-hole runs on a Raspberry Pi or any Linux server and serves as the DNS resolver for your entire home network, blocking domains before connections are made.
No. Pi-hole runs on any Linux system including Docker, virtual machines, Ubuntu servers, and NAS devices. A Raspberry Pi is popular because it is inexpensive and low-power, but it is not required.
Yes. Pi-hole blocks DNS requests for ad domains across all devices on the network, including apps on smartphones and tablets. It cannot block ads served from the same domain as the content (first-party ads), which are common on YouTube.
Pi-hole cannot block YouTube ads because Google serves them from the same domains as the video content. Blocking those domains would also break YouTube playback. Browser extensions like uBlock Origin with SponsorBlock are more effective for YouTube.
App Vulture tracks DNS ad blocking tools by update frequency, community activity, and user ratings. See our full comparison above for current data.
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