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Pi-Hole Better Than Adguard

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By Usman Masood Ashraf
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Pi-Hole Better Than Adguard

Pi-Hole Better Than Adguard: A Technical Deep Dive for DevOps Engineers

INTRODUCTION

In the world of self-hosted network ad-blocking, a Reddit user recently observed an intriguing phenomenon: their Pi-hole installation was processing more DNS queries and achieving higher block rates (16%) compared to AdGuard Home (14%). This observation sparks a critical debate in DevOps and homelab communities about which solution truly delivers superior network-wide ad blocking. For infrastructure professionals managing self-hosted environments, the choice between these two open-source DNS filtering solutions has significant implications for privacy, performance, and network management efficiency.

Understanding the technical nuances between Pi-hole and AdGuard Home is essential for system administrators optimizing home labs or enterprise networks. While AdGuard Home boasts easier DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT) configuration, Pi-hole continues to demonstrate measurable advantages in blocking effectiveness and query processing - crucial metrics for any network administrator battling modern advertising trackers and malware domains.

This comprehensive guide examines:

  • Core architectural differences impacting performance
  • Real-world blocking efficiency comparisons
  • Configuration trade-offs between simplicity and granular control
  • DNS encryption implementation challenges
  • Resource utilization patterns
  • Enterprise-ready features for scaled deployments

For DevOps engineers building resilient, self-hosted infrastructure, these technical distinctions directly impact network security posture, maintenance overhead, and ultimately, user experience across managed devices.

UNDERSTANDING THE TOPIC

What is Pi-hole?

Pi-hole is a network-wide DNS sinkhole that blocks advertising and tracking domains at the DNS level. Originally created in 2015 by Jacob Salmela, it operates as a Linux daemon (primarily on Raspberry Pi devices) that:

  • Acts as DNS server for network devices
  • Filters requests against blocklists
  • Provides detailed query analytics
  • Supports custom DNS configurations

What is AdGuard Home?

AdGuard Home (2018) is a newer competitor offering similar functionality with added emphasis on:

  • DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS encryption
  • Simplified initial setup
  • Native cross-platform support
  • Integrated parental controls

Key Technical Comparison

| Feature | Pi-hole (v6.0+) | AdGuard Home (v0.108+) | |————————–|———————-|————————| | Blocking Method | DNS sinkhole | DNS sinkhole | | Encryption Support | Via external proxies | Native implementation | | Web Interface | PHP-based | Go binary | | Blocklist Format | Hosts/Domain lists | AdBlock-style syntax | | Query Processing | dnsmasq + custom | CoreDNS-based | | Memory Usage (avg) | ~150MB RAM | ~100MB RAM | | DHCP Server | Integrated | Requires external | | API Maturity | Stable v1/v2 | Beta implementation |

Performance Considerations

The Reddit user’s observation of Pi-hole processing more queries aligns with architectural differences:

  1. dnsmasq Integration: Pi-hole leverages battle-tested dnsmasq for DNS caching and forwarding, optimized through decades of refinement
  2. Query Processing: AdGuard’s CoreDNS implementation adds abstraction layers that may impact throughput
  3. Caching Strategies: Pi-hole’s aggressive caching produces better performance on networks with repetitive query patterns

Security Implications

While AdGuard Home simplifies encrypted DNS setup, Pi-hole maintains security advantages through:

  • Smaller attack surface (only 5 exposed ports vs AdGuard’s 9)
  • More granular access controls
  • Mature SELinux/AppArmor profiles
  • Active vulnerability disclosure program with CVE tracking

PREREQUISITES

Hardware Requirements

| Component | Pi-hole Minimum | Recommended Production | |—————-|—————–|————————| | CPU | 1 core | 2+ cores | | RAM | 512MB | 2GB | | Storage | 2GB | 10GB (SSD recommended) | | Network | 100Mbps | 1Gbps+ |

Software Requirements

  • Operating System:
    • Debian 11/12 (Bullseye/Bookworm)
    • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS+
    • RHEL-compatible (Rocky Linux 9+)
  • Dependencies:
    1
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    # Common requirements for both solutions
sudo apt install curl gnupg ca-certificates systemd-resolved
  • Network Preconfiguration:
    1. Static IP assignment
    2. Port 53/443 TCP/UDP accessibility
    3. Disable existing DNS services:
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      sudo systemctl disable --now systemd-resolved

Security Preparation

  1. Create dedicated service account:
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    sudo useradd -r -s /usr/sbin/nologin -d /var/lib/pihole pihole
  2. Configure firewall rules:
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    sudo ufw allow proto tcp from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 53,80,443
sudo ufw allow proto udp from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 53
  3. Implement DNS rate limiting:
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    sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 53 -m state --state NEW -m recent --set
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 53 -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 30 --hitcount 10 -j DROP

INSTALLATION & SETUP

Pi-hole Deployment (Docker Example)

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# Create persistent volumes
docker volume create pihole_config
docker volume create pihole_dnsmasq

# Run container with production-safe settings
docker run -d \
  --name=pihole \
  -e TZ=UTC \
  -e WEBPASSWORD='$(openssl rand -base64 24)' \
  -e DNS1=1.1.1.1 \
  -e DNS2=9.9.9.9 \
  -e DNSSEC=true \
  -e REV_SERVER=true \
  -e REV_SERVER_CIDR=192.168.1.0/24 \
  -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp \
  -p 80:80 \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \
  --dns=127.0.0.1 \
  --dns=1.1.1.1 \
  -v pihole_config:/etc/pihole \
  -v pihole_dnsmasq:/etc/dnsmasq.d \
  pihole/pihole:2024.05.0

AdGuard Home Deployment (Docker Example)

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docker run -d \
  --name=adguard \
  -v adguard_config:/opt/adguardhome/conf \
  -v adguard_work:/opt/adguardhome/work \
  -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp \
  -p 80:80/tcp -p 443:443/tcp \
  -p 3000:3000/tcp \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --cap-add=NET_ADMIN \
  adguard/adguardhome:v0.108.3

Post-Install Verification

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# Check Pi-hole container status
docker ps --filter "name=pihole" \
  --format "table $CONTAINER_ID\t$CONTAINER_IMAGE\t$CONTAINER_STATUS\t$CONTAINER_PORTS"

# Test DNS resolution
dig @192.168.1.100 doubleclick.net +short
# Expected: 0.0.0.0 (blocked)

# Verify query logging
docker exec -it pihole pihole tail

Common Installation Issues

  1. Port 53 Conflicts:
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    sudo ss -tulpn | grep ':53'
sudo kill -9 $(sudo lsof -t -i:53)
  2. DNS Loop Prevention:
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    # In pihole setup
dns:
  forward:
    1.1.1.1
    9.9.9.9
  conditional_forwarding:
    enabled: true
    cidr: 192.168.1.0/24
    target: 192.168.1.1

CONFIGURATION & OPTIMIZATION

Blocklist Management

Pi-hole (Advanced Configuration):

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# Custom blocklists
docker exec pihole sqlite3 /etc/pihole/gravity.db \
  "INSERT INTO adlist (address, enabled, comment) VALUES \
  ('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts', 1, 'StevenBlack');"
  
# Regex filtering
docker exec pihole pihole --regex '(^|\.)tracking\.com$' 'analytics\..*\.com'

AdGuard Home (Simplified UI):

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# config.yaml excerpt
filters:
  - enabled: true
    url: https://adguardteam.github.io/AdGuardSDNSFilter/Filters/filter.txt
    name: AdGuard DNS filter

DNS Encryption Implementation

Pi-hole with Cloudflared (DoH):

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# cloudflared Docker service
docker run -d \
  --name cloudflared \
  --restart=always \
  -v cloudflared_config:/etc/cloudflared \
  cloudflare/cloudflared:2024.5.0 \
  proxy-dns --port 5053 --upstream https://1.1.1.1/dns-query

AdGuard Native DoT:

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# AdGuard configuration
dns:
  encrypted_dns:
    enabled: true
    server_name: dot.example.com
    bootstrap:
      - 1.1.1.1

Performance Tuning

Pi-hole dnsmasq Optimization:

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# /etc/dnsmasq.d/10-performance.conf
cache-size=10000
max-cache-ttl=3600
min-cache-ttl=300
neg-ttl=60

AdGuard Cache Settings:

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dns:
  cache_size: 4194304  # 4MB
  cache_ttl_min: 300
  cache_ttl_max: 3600

Security Hardening

  1. Web Interface Protection:
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    # NGINX reverse proxy config
location /admin {
  proxy_pass http://pihole;
  satisfy any;
  allow 192.168.1.0/24;
  deny all;
  auth_basic "Restricted";
  auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
}
  2. Rate Limiting:
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    # Pi-hole custom firewall rules
iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 53 -m state --state NEW -m recent --set
iptables -I INPUT -p udp --dport 53 -m state --state NEW -m recent --update --seconds 30 --hitcount 20 -j DROP

USAGE & OPERATIONS

Daily Management Tasks

Pi-hole CLI Operations:

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# Update gravity database
docker exec pihole pihole -g

# Temporary whitelisting
docker exec pihole pihole --white-regex 'metrics\.example\.com'

# Query analysis
docker exec pihole pihole -q -exact google-analytics.com

AdGuard Maintenance:

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# Force filter updates
docker exec adguard adguard home -update filters

# Client statistics
docker exec adguard adguard home -stats clients

Monitoring Integration

Prometheus Exporter Setup:

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# Pi-hole exporter configuration
scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'pihole'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['pihole:9617']
    metrics_path: /metrics

Backup Strategies

Pi-hole State Backup:

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# Full backup script
docker exec pihole pihole -a -t backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz \
  && docker cp pihole:/backup_$(date +%F).tar.gz ./pihole_backups/

AdGuard Configuration Backup:

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# cron job for daily backups
0 2 * * * docker exec adguard tar czf /opt/adguardhome/backup/config_$(date +\%F).tgz /opt/adguardhome/conf

TROUBLESHOOTING

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Blocking False Positives:

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# Pi-hole debug
docker exec pihole pihole -d

# AdGuard query log inspection
docker exec adguard adguard home -querylog

2. DNS Resolution Failures:

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# Check upstream connectivity
docker exec pihole dig @1.1.1.1 google.com +short

# Validate container DNS
docker inspect pihole --format ''

3. Performance Degradation:

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# Pi-hole resource monitoring
docker stats pihole --format "table $CONTAINER_NAMES\t$CONTAINER_CPU\t$CONTAINER_MEM"

# Query analysis
docker exec pihole pihole -c -j

Log Analysis Techniques

Pi-hole Log Structure:

# Sample log entry
May 15 12:00:00 dnsmasq[123]: query[A] doubleclick.net from 192.168.1.50
May 15 12:00:00 dnsmasq[123]: /etc/pihole/gravity.list doubleclick.net is 0.0.0.0

AdGuard Log Patterns:

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{
  "CID": "ABCDEF",
  "T": "2024-05-15T12:00:00Z",
  "QH": "tracking.example.com",
  "QT": "A",
  "QC": "IN",
  "CP": "",
  "Answer": "REFUSED",
  "Result": "Filtered"
}

CONCLUSION

The Reddit user’s empirical observation of Pi-hole processing more queries with higher block rates aligns with technical reality. While AdGuard Home offers simplified DNS encryption setup, Pi-hole demonstrates superior performance in network-wide ad blocking through its mature dnsmasq integration and optimized caching architecture.

For DevOps engineers managing critical infrastructure:

  • Pi-hole provides enterprise-grade reliability and deeper customization
  • AdGuard Home offers quicker deployment of modern DNS features
  • The 2-5% blocking difference represents significant privacy protection at scale

Critical infrastructure should consider:

  1. Pi-hole for:
    • High-traffic networks
    • Complex filtering requirements
    • Existing dnsmasq ecosystems
  2. AdGuard Home for:
    • Rapid encrypted DNS deployment
    • Simplified UI for novice administrators
    • Integrated parental controls

Further Resources:

Ultimately, the choice depends on specific operational requirements, but for maximum blocking efficiency and network visibility, Pi-hole remains the DevOps professional’s solution of choice for mission-critical ad blocking infrastructure.

Open Source, Reddit Guides, Docker
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This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.