AdGuard Home vs ctrld
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
ctrld
Flexible DNS forwarding proxy with per-client policy
| Feature | AdGuard Home | ctrld |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,977 | ★ 866 |
| First released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, NextDNS | NextDNS |
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 ctrld if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuard Home or ctrld better?
AdGuard Home is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider ctrld if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are AdGuard Home and ctrld free and open-source?
Yes. AdGuard Home is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ctrld under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AdGuard Home and ctrld with Docker?
AdGuard Home: yes. ctrld: check the project docs for container support.