Adguard Home Sync vs Pi-hole
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 Sync
Synchronize AdGuard Home config to replicas
VS
Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and
| Feature | Adguard Home Sync | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | EUPL-1.2 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,762 | ★ 60,247 |
| First released | 2023 | 2026 |
| Replaces | — | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Adguard Home Sync if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
Choose Pi-hole if…
- Released under the EUPL-1.2 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 60.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is Adguard Home Sync or Pi-hole better?
Neither is universally better. Pi-hole has the larger community, while Adguard Home Sync is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Adguard Home Sync and Pi-hole free and open-source?
Yes. Adguard Home Sync is licensed under free and Pi-hole under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Adguard Home Sync and Pi-hole with Docker?
Adguard Home Sync: yes. Pi-hole: yes.