AdGuard Home
User-friendly ads & trackers blocking DNS server.
AdGuard Home vs blocky
Two self-hosted DNS apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| AdGuard Home | blocky | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | User-friendly ads & trackers blocking DNS server. | Fast and lightweight DNS proxy as ad-blocker for local network with many features (alternative to Pi-hole). |
| GitHub stars | 38,476 | 7,101 |
| Forks | 2.6k | – |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 1.3k | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 244 | 312 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-09 | 2026-11-09 |
| Latest release | v1.0.0-b.2 (2026-11-05) | v0.36.0 (2026-11-09) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language / platform | Docker | Go, Docker |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Categories | DNS | DNS |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- AdGuard Home is more popular on GitHub: 38.5k stars vs 7.1k for blocky.
- blocky published a release more recently (v0.36.0 on 2026-11-09; AdGuard Home's latest is v1.0.0-b.2 on 2026-11-05).
- AdGuard Home is licensed under GPL-3.0, blocky under Apache-2.0. blocky's license is permissive; AdGuard Home's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- blocky is written in Go; the language of AdGuard Home is not listed upstream.
- Deployment options listed upstream: AdGuard Home: Docker; blocky: Docker.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for blocky (~512 MB server) than AdGuard Home (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: AdGuard Home leads on GitHub popularity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-15. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuard Home or blocky more popular?
AdGuard Home has more GitHub stars (38,476 vs 7,101 for blocky, as of 2026-11-15). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, AdGuard Home or blocky?
Commits in the last 12 months: AdGuard Home 244, blocky 312. Both had repository activity on 2026-11-09. Releases in the past year: AdGuard Home 10+, blocky 10+. Our health labels: AdGuard Home is “Active”, blocky is “Active”.
What licenses do AdGuard Home and blocky use?
AdGuard Home: GPL-3.0. blocky: Apache-2.0. blocky's license is permissive; AdGuard Home's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run AdGuard Home and blocky with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for AdGuard Home and blocky. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
blocky
Fast and lightweight DNS proxy as ad-blocker for local network with many features (alternative to Pi-hole).
Browse all self-hosted DNS apps.