AdGuard Home vs Coraza WAF
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AdGuard Home
Network-wide DNS ad and tracker blocker
VS
Coraza WAF
Open-source enterprise-grade web application firewall
| Feature | AdGuard Home | Coraza WAF |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,977 | ★ 3,720 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, NextDNS | ModSecurity, Cloudflare WAF |
Why pick each one
Choose AdGuard Home if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 36k GitHub stars
Choose Coraza WAF if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (3.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuard Home or Coraza WAF better?
AdGuard Home is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Coraza WAF if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are AdGuard Home and Coraza WAF free and open-source?
Yes. AdGuard Home is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Coraza WAF under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AdGuard Home and Coraza WAF with Docker?
AdGuard Home: yes. Coraza WAF: check the project docs for container support.