Pi-hole vs Unifi-controller
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
Unifi-controller
The Unifi-controller software is a powerful, enterprise wireless
| Feature | Pi-hole | Unifi-controller |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | EUPL-1.2 | free |
| Language | Shell | Dockerfile |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 60,247 | ★ 869 |
| First released | 2026 | 2022 |
| Replaces | — | — |
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 Unifi-controller if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Dockerfile
Frequently asked questions
Is Pi-hole or Unifi-controller better?
Neither is universally better. Pi-hole has the larger community, while Unifi-controller is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pi-hole and Unifi-controller free and open-source?
Yes. Pi-hole is licensed under EUPL-1.2 and Unifi-controller under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pi-hole and Unifi-controller with Docker?
Pi-hole: yes. Unifi-controller: yes.