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AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole 2026 – DNS on a VPS

Compare AdGuard Home and Pi-hole: blocklists, DoH, port 53, whether a public VPS makes sense, Tailscale DNS, GDPR.

Self-hosting

Quick answer: AdGuard Home and Pi-hole are DNS filters. On a VPS never open port 53 to the world – LAN, your IPs, or Tailscale only.

Docker · WireGuard

VPS & root servers: Order VPS in Germany · NexoraHost · nexorahost.com (Maincubes FRA01 Frankfurt · Ryzen · NVMe · GDPR)

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

AdGuard Home or Pi-hole?
AdGuard Home: one binary, built-in DoH/DoT, modern UI. Pi-hole: mature Gravity lists, often + unbound. Both block at DNS.
Open port 53 on a VPS?
Not as a public resolver – it will be abused. Limit to your IPs or VPN/Tailscale only.
Home or datacenter?
LAN box for all home devices. VPS as a DoH endpoint or Tailscale-only DNS.
RAM?
512 MB–1 GB for lists. Fine on a shared 4 GB VPS.
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