AdGuard Home vs dnscrypt-proxy
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
dnscrypt-proxy
Encrypted DNS proxy supporting DNSCrypt and DoH
| Feature | AdGuard Home | dnscrypt-proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | GPL-3.0 | ISC |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,977 | ★ 13,554 |
| First released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, NextDNS | Cloudflare WARP |
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 dnscrypt-proxy if…
- Released under the ISC license
- Mature project with 13.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuard Home or dnscrypt-proxy better?
AdGuard Home is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider dnscrypt-proxy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are AdGuard Home and dnscrypt-proxy free and open-source?
Yes. AdGuard Home is licensed under GPL-3.0 and dnscrypt-proxy under ISC. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AdGuard Home and dnscrypt-proxy with Docker?
AdGuard Home: yes. dnscrypt-proxy: check the project docs for container support.