Duck DNS 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?
Duck DNS
Duck DNS is a free Dynamic DNS service
VS
Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and
| Feature | Duck DNS | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | EUPL-1.2 |
| Language | Shell | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 375 | ★ 60,247 |
| First released | 2023 | 2026 |
| Replaces | — | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Duck DNS if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Shell
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 Duck DNS or Pi-hole better?
Neither is universally better. Pi-hole has the larger community, while Duck DNS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Duck DNS and Pi-hole free and open-source?
Yes. Duck DNS is licensed under free and Pi-hole under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duck DNS and Pi-hole with Docker?
Duck DNS: yes. Pi-hole: yes.