Pi-hole vs Technitium DNS Server
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?
Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and
VS
Technitium DNS Server
Self-hosted DNS server with ad-blocking and a web console
| Feature | Pi-hole | Technitium DNS Server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | EUPL-1.2 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 60,247 | ★ 9,449 |
| First released | 2026 | 2017 |
| Replaces | — | Pi-hole, AdGuard Home |
Why pick each one
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
Choose Technitium DNS Server if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.4k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Pi-hole or Technitium DNS Server better?
Neither is universally better. Pi-hole has the larger community, while Technitium DNS Server is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pi-hole and Technitium DNS Server free and open-source?
Yes. Pi-hole is licensed under EUPL-1.2 and Technitium DNS Server under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pi-hole and Technitium DNS Server with Docker?
Pi-hole: yes. Technitium DNS Server: yes.