My Story

Back when I started my home lab journey, I began with Pi-hole. Many mainstream YouTubers recommended it, like LTT (Linus Tech Tips) and SOG (SomeOrdinaryGamers). It was amazing as my second self-hosted project, after I set up Nextcloud. However, it broke after I updated the Ubuntu system it was running on.

After that first time, I started to learn more about Docker and web-native stuff.That is why I switched to using Pi-hole in Docker. I felt confident that it wouldn’t randomly break because of an update again. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It broke again a few months after the second Pi-hole setup.

I think it has something to do with Pi-hole moving from v5 to v6. So, technically, it was my fault for not reading the documentation before docker pull. My passion still ran out after the second time it broke, though. That is how I decided to switch to AdGuard Home.

The Different

From my first impression, Adguard feels much more polished and sleek. It feels like a more “professional” design. Also, the built-in update feature in the web UI is quite nice. It is not to say that Pi-hole’s design is unprofessional. It’s just that when compared with Adguard, the UI of Pi-hole screams: “I AM A HOBBY PROJECT.” It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is a subjective opinion from me, so it is not really a critique but more of a comment.

The other element that jumps into my eye is DoH support. Pi-hole, by default, does not have DoH support for upstream DNS. You could argue that it is not needed because Pi-hole users will use Unbound in recursive mode anyway. However, DoH is important, so I personally think it should be included by default. Adguard also provides an easier way to control caching via its web UI. It also offers a lot more choices for blocklists, which is great for less tech-savvy users.

Overall, I think Adguard is more user-friendly and family-oriented, like the name “Adguard Home.” Unfortunately, it does have some downsides that bug me a lot. The dashboard is poor. It does not have as extensive information compared to Pi-hole. It isn’t just me; there are a lot of other users who seem to think the same. So the takeaway from this blog is: ADGUARD TEAM, please upgrade your dashboard.

Adguard Dashboard

Pi Hole Dashboard