Blocky 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?
Blocky
Fast DNS proxy and ad-blocker for local networks
VS
Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and
| Feature | Blocky | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | EUPL-1.2 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,844 | ★ 60,247 |
| First released | 2019 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, AdGuard Home | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Blocky if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k 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 Blocky or Pi-hole better?
Neither is universally better. Pi-hole has the larger community, while Blocky is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Blocky and Pi-hole free and open-source?
Yes. Blocky is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pi-hole under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blocky and Pi-hole with Docker?
Blocky: yes. Pi-hole: yes.