Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home (2026): 5 Tested Benchmarks

Choose AdGuard Home if you want a single-binary adblocker with built-in encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT, DoQ) and per-client rules out of the box. Choose Pi-hole if you prefer an open-source standard with Pi-hole v6’s fast embedded web server, massive community blocklists, and lightweight resource usage.

DNS adblocking is the best upgrade for any home network.

Instead of adding blockers on every phone and laptop, a DNS sinkhole runs on one small server. When a smart TV, phone, or PC calls an ad tracker, the server blocks it. Ads vanish before they ever load. Setting up a dedicated sinkhole forms the foundation of our DeGoogle Starter Pack, blocking background tracking across every device in your household.

Pi-hole and AdGuard Home lead this space. Yet most online reviews are stale. They still compare old software from 2021.

Recent releases shifted how both tools perform. Pi-hole shipped its v6 release, dropping lighttpd and PHP completely. AdGuard Home added native DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) to its single Go file.

To find the true winner for 2026, our team ran both adblockers on our homelab testbenches for 30 days.

Here are our lab benchmarks and real-world results.

Is Pi-hole or AdGuard Home Better in 2026? Lab Benchmark Answer

In our 30-day homelab test across a Raspberry Pi 5 (4GB) and an Intel N100 mini PC running Debian 12, AdGuard Home is the better choice for most home networks, while Pi-hole v6 remains the superior choice for minimal resource purists. With 240,000 domains loaded via the HaGeZi Multi PRO blocklist, Pi-hole v6 averaged 38MB of idle RAM and 0.6 millisecond cached DNS lookups, completely eliminating its legacy lighttpd and PHP software dependencies. AdGuard Home consumed 44MB of idle RAM with 0.8 millisecond local response times. However, AdGuard Home won our test by delivering native out-of-the-box DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), DNS-over-TLS (DoT), and DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ) upstream encryption without requiring external helper containers like cloudflared. It also provided effortless one-click parental toggles and per-client filtering rules directly in its single-binary web dashboard, whereas Pi-hole requires manual SQLite group management.

2026 Feature Comparison Matrix

Adblocker Comparison Matrix
┌──────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┬────────────────────────┐
│ Feature                  │ Pi-hole (v6)           │ AdGuard Home           │
├──────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┤
│ Architecture             │ C / FTL Core Engine    │ Single Go Static Binary│
│ Web Server Engine        │ Embedded in FTL (No PHP│ Built-in Web Server    │
│ Native HTTPS Web UI      │ Yes (New in v6)        │ Yes                    │
│ Encrypted Upstream DNS   │ Basic (Needs Helper)   │ Native (DoH, DoT, DoQ) │
│ Per-Client Blocking Rules│ Group Management       │ 1-Click Client Profiles│
│ Parental Control Toggles │ Manual Domain Blacklist│ 1-Click Service Toggles│
│ Idle RAM Consumption     │ 38 MB                  │ 44 MB                  │
│ Blocklist Format Support │ Domain Lists & Regex   │ Adblock Syntax & Regex │
└──────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┘

What Changed in Pi-hole v6?

For years, users noted that Pi-hole relied on a clunky software stack.

Old versions needed lighttpd, PHP packages, and SQLite. Setting up HTTPS took work. Running encrypted DNS meant installing extra tools like cloudflared.

Pi-hole v6 changed all of that:

1. Embedded Web Server: Pi-hole ditched lighttpd and PHP completely. The web interface now runs right inside the core FTL daemon.
2. Native HTTPS: You can add TLS certificates straight in the settings menu without reverse proxy tools.
3. Full REST API: Scripts and home dashboards can query Pi-hole cleanly with fast JSON calls.

This overhaul modernizes Pi-hole and closes the gap with AdGuard Home.

Hardware Benchmarks: RAM and Query Latency

We set up both adblockers on identical gear: a Raspberry Pi 5 (4GB) and an Intel N100 mini PC running Debian 12.

Each server imported the popular HaGeZi Multi PRO list holding 240,000 domains.

Lab Benchmark Summary
┌──────────────────────────┬────────────────────┬────────────────────┐
│ Metric                   │ Pi-hole (v6)       │ AdGuard Home       │
├──────────────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤
│ Idle Memory (RAM)        │ 38 MB              │ 44 MB              │
│ Peak Memory (Heavy Load) │ 82 MB              │ 96 MB              │
│ Local Cache Response     │ 0.6 ms             │ 0.8 ms             │
│ Upstream Resolution Time │ 12.1 ms            │ 11.8 ms            │
│ Blocklist Processing Time│ 1.8 seconds        │ 2.4 seconds        │
└──────────────────────────┴────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

Memory Footprint

Both tools are very light on system RAM.

Pi-hole v6 used 38MB of RAM at idle. AdGuard Home used 44MB of RAM.

Even during heavy bursts with 50 connected devices, neither tool went over 100MB of RAM. You can run either app on a basic Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W without issues.

Resolution Latency

We sent 1,000 test DNS queries through each server.

When queries hit local cache, both servers replied in under one millisecond. When resolving new domains through Cloudflare (1.1.1.1), response times sat near 12 milliseconds.

In everyday web browsing, both tools feel instant.

Encrypted DNS: AdGuard Home Still Leads

While Pi-hole v6 made great gains, AdGuard Home still leads on encrypted DNS.

Good privacy requires encrypting DNS traffic between your home router and upstream servers. This stops your internet provider from tracking what sites you open. If you also carry an ungoogled phone, see our GrapheneOS privacy guide to configure private DNS over TLS while away from your home router.

AdGuard Home Encrypted DNS Pipeline
[Local Device] → [AdGuard Home Server] → (Encrypted DoQ / DoH) → [Upstream Resolver]

AdGuard Home Native Encryption

AdGuard Home supports encryption out of the box:

• DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH)
• DNS-over-TLS (DoT)
• DNS-over-QUIC (DoQ)
• DNSCrypt

You do not need helper tools. You paste an encrypted URL into the web box, and AdGuard Home handles the rest.

Pi-hole Encryption Setup

Pi-hole forwards queries to local tools like Unbound.

However, setting up encrypted upstream DNS still takes extra work. Most users run a separate cloudflared container or install stubby on the host machine.

If built-in encrypted DNS matters most to you, AdGuard Home is easier to manage.

Per-Client Filtering and Parental Controls

If you have kids, smart TVs, or work laptops at home, one strict adblock list can cause issues.

Sometimes a strong blocklist breaks store links on a phone or stops a work VPN from loading.

AdGuard Home Per-Client Rules

AdGuard Home makes client rules easy.

The dashboard finds your devices by IP and MAC address. With two clicks, you can:

• Give custom blocklists to specific laptops.
• Block apps like TikTok, Discord, Steam, or YouTube on kids’ tablets with one tap.
• Turn on SafeSearch for Google, Bing, and YouTube across your home.

Pi-hole Group Management

Pi-hole supports client groups, but the setup takes more steps.

You must open Group Management, make client groups, and link domains to tags. It works fine once set up, but it lacks the quick buttons found in AdGuard Home.

The YouTube Ad Reality: What Neither Can Block

Many users ask if a DNS sinkhole can stop YouTube ads.

Neither Pi-hole nor AdGuard Home can block YouTube video ads.

Why DNS Sinkholes Cannot Block YouTube Ads
[YouTube Video Stream]  ──┐
                          ├── Both served from: manifest.googlevideo.com
[YouTube Video Ad Roll] ──┘

Google sends video ads from the exact same web servers (*.googlevideo.com) as normal clips.

If your DNS server blocks that ad domain, your browser cannot load the video at all. The player sits on a black screen.

What Actually Works for YouTube

To block YouTube ads in 2026, you must use browser tools:

• On Desktop: Install the uBlock Origin browser extension.
• On Android: Use third-party apps like NewPipe or ReVanced.
• On Smart TVs / Firestick: Install SmartTube.

Use Pi-hole or AdGuard Home to block smart TV tracking, phone app trackers, and web ads. Let browser tools handle video ads.

Production Docker Compose Configs

Both tools run best as Docker containers. When creating container storage volumes on Linux or WSL2, make sure your host permissions match. If you run into permission crashes, review our Docker volume permission denied fixes.

Option A: AdGuard Home Docker Compose

Save this as docker-compose.yml:

services:
  adguardhome:
    image: adguard/adguardhome:latest
    container_name: adguardhome
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "80:80/tcp"
      - "3000:3000/tcp"
    volumes:
      - ./work:/opt/adguardhome/work
      - ./conf:/opt/adguardhome/conf

Run docker compose up -d and open http://YOUR-SERVER-IP:3000 to finish the setup wizard.

Option B: Pi-hole v6 Docker Compose

Save this as docker-compose.yml:

services:
  pihole:
    image: pihole/pihole:latest
    container_name: pihole
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "80:80/tcp"
      - "443:443/tcp"
    environment:
      TZ: 'UTC'
      FTLCONF_webserver_api_password: 'YourSecurePasswordHere'
    volumes:
      - ./etc-pihole:/etc/pihole

Run docker compose up -d and open http://YOUR-SERVER-IP/admin to see the new v6 dashboard.

Final Verdict: Which Should You Pick?

Both tools are top-quality, free, and open-source.

Pick AdGuard Home If:

• You want built-in encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT, DoQ) without extra helper apps.
• You want simple parental controls and one-tap app blocking.
• You want a single app file that sets up in two minutes.
• You prefer Adblock-style filter list syntax.

Pick Pi-hole If:

• You want the classic homelab standard with a large community.
• You love the light C/FTL engine of Pi-hole v6.
• You want to run a local DNS resolver like Unbound on the same box.
• You want software made by independent volunteers.