The XDA piece on running network-wide ad blocking from a Raspberry Pi Zero quietly makes the case for moving Pi-hole off the Pi. The Zero’s lack of Ethernet, the SD-card wear pattern, and the single-point-of-failure shape all push self-hosters toward something that runs on real desktop hardware. Pi-hole is still excellent. It just no longer needs to live on a Pi, and if it is moving anyway, it is worth asking whether AdGuard Home, Technitium, or a hosted resolver might fit better.
Pi-hole is the right answer for many home labs. It is not the right answer for everyone. AdGuard Home covers more protocols out of the box. Technitium ships an enterprise feature set. NextDNS and ControlD skip the hardware entirely. We tested 7 Pi-hole alternatives on desktop and ranked them on install complexity (on Windows, macOS, and Linux), blocklist breadth, encrypted-DNS support, dashboard quality, and how they cope when the upstream router does not let you push DHCP.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Native desktop | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard Home | The easiest Pi-hole replacement | Yes, fully free | Win, Mac, Linux | Built-in DoH, DoT, DoQ |
| Technitium DNS | Self-hosters who want enterprise features | Yes, fully free | Win, Mac, Linux | Conditional forwarding, full DNSSEC |
| NextDNS | Zero-hardware hosted Pi-hole | Free tier | Win, Mac, Linux clients | Largest blocklist library out of the box |
| ControlD | Hosted DNS with per-device profiles | Free tier | Win, Mac, Linux clients | Free malware-and-tracker tier without an account |
| Blocky | Lightweight self-hosted resolver | Yes, fully free | Linux, Docker | Single Go binary, low resource use |
| Mullvad DNS | Free, no-account, privacy-respecting DNS | Yes, fully free | Set in OS | Anonymous and zero-log |
| Unbound | Power users who want a recursive resolver | Yes, fully free | Win, Mac, Linux | DNSSEC validation from the root zone |
Why people leave Pi-hole on desktop
The patterns from r/selfhosted and the Pi-hole community forum:
- Pi as a single point of failure. A failed SD card or a brief power cut takes the whole network’s DNS down. Moving to a desktop or a small server fixes the hardware story but raises the question of whether Pi-hole is still the right software.
- No native DoH or DoT. Pi-hole needs Cloudflared or Unbound layered on top to handle encrypted upstreams. AdGuard Home and Technitium do that natively.
- Per-client rules are limited. Pi-hole has gotten better here, but the configuration is still rougher than AdGuard Home’s per-client dashboard.
- Windows is awkward. Pi-hole does not run natively on Windows. The supported path is Docker Desktop or WSL, both of which have their own quirks.
- Mobile users away from home. Once you leave the LAN, Pi-hole’s protection ends unless you bolt on a WireGuard or Tailscale tunnel.
If any of these is the reason you are reading this article, here are seven Pi-hole alternatives for desktop.
The 7 Pi-hole alternatives
1. AdGuard Home, best for the easiest Pi-hole switch
AdGuard Home is the most direct Pi-hole replacement. The desktop binary runs on Windows, macOS, Intel and ARM Linux, and Docker. It does the same DNS-sinkhole job, with a cleaner dashboard, built-in DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, and DNS-over-QUIC support out of the box, and per-client rules in the GUI rather than the config file. Filter lists are interchangeable with Pi-hole’s.
Where it falls short: Some Pi-hole-specific tools (PADD dashboard, Teleporter) have no exact equivalent yet. The mobile AdGuard app is paid.
Pricing:
- Free: AdGuard Home itself, fully open-source
- Paid: The AdGuard mobile and desktop blockers are a separate paid product
- vs Pi-hole: Both free. AdGuard Home wins on protocol support and per-client UX, Pi-hole wins on community and ecosystem depth.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Stop Pi-hole, export the allowlist and blocklist, import into AdGuard Home through the dashboard, point the router at the new resolver. About an hour for a careful migration.
Download: AdGuard Home | GitHub
Bottom line: Pick this when you want a one-binary Pi-hole replacement with first-class encrypted DNS.
2. Technitium DNS, best for self-hosters who want enterprise features
Technitium DNS Server is the closest the open-source world gets to a Microsoft DNS-class server. It runs as a native installer on Windows, macOS, and Linux, supports DoH, DoT, DoQ, full DNSSEC validation, conditional forwarding, custom zones, split-horizon DNS, and a built-in blocklist engine. The dashboard exposes everything from query logs to per-zone access rules.
Where it falls short: Steeper than Pi-hole or AdGuard Home. Many features are aimed at small business setups, not households, and the UI density reflects that.
Pricing:
- Free: Everything, source-available
- Paid: Optional commercial support
- vs Pi-hole: Both free. Technitium is more powerful, Pi-hole is friendlier.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Install, import blocklists, set up the DNS Apps for category-based blocking, configure conditional forwarding for local domains. Plan a Saturday.
Download: Technitium DNS
Bottom line: Pick this when you want a self-hosted resolver with conditional forwarding, split-horizon, and full DNSSEC in one package.
3. NextDNS, best for zero-hardware hosting
NextDNS is what Pi-hole would be if you outsourced the box. The dashboard exposes blocklists, rewrites, allowlists, query logs, parental controls, and per-profile rules. The Windows, macOS, and Linux clients pin the OS to the right profile and survive network changes (home wifi to cellular tether to office wifi) without manual reconfiguration.
Where it falls short: Cloud-hosted, so the resolver sees your queries. The free tier caps monthly queries.
Pricing:
- Free: 300,000 queries per month
- Paid: Pro at $19.90/year removes the cap
- vs Pi-hole: Pi-hole runs on your hardware and your network. NextDNS has none of that and travels with the device.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Create a NextDNS profile, import blocklists, install the desktop client on each device, set the router DNS for the network case.
Download: NextDNS desktop
Bottom line: Pick this when you want Pi-hole-grade protection that follows the laptop.
4. ControlD, best for hosted DNS with per-device profiles
ControlD is the closest competitor to NextDNS, and the differentiator is per-device profile granularity on the free tier. You can pin the laptop to one profile, the kid’s PC to another, and the work box to a third, all without paying. The Windows, macOS, and Linux clients are stable and switch profiles cleanly when the network changes.
Where it falls short: Custom rules and advanced routing sit behind the paid tier. The free tier is enough for households but not power users.
Pricing:
- Free: Per-device profiles, basic blocklists, malware tier without an account
- Paid: ControlD Pro from $2/month for 10 profiles and custom rules
- vs Pi-hole: Both free at the basic level. ControlD owns its own anycast network and travels with the device; Pi-hole stays at home.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Create a profile, import blocklists, install the desktop client on each box, set the router DNS for the network-wide case.
Download: ControlD download
Bottom line: Pick this when you want per-device profiles without paying for them.
5. Blocky, best for lightweight self-hosted
Blocky is a single Go binary that does the Pi-hole job in a fraction of the resources. Drop the binary on any Linux box or run it in Docker, point the YAML config at a set of blocklists, and the result is a tiny, fast resolver with reasonable Grafana integration for query logs. No GUI dashboard out of the box, which keeps the footprint small.
Where it falls short: No dashboard. Configuration is YAML-only. Power users like that. Households will not.
Pricing:
- Free: Everything, MIT-licensed
- Paid: None
- vs Pi-hole: Both free. Blocky is much lighter and headless. Pi-hole is friendlier.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Drop the Blocky binary, build a config from the sample, list blocklists, point the router DNS. Half an hour if you are comfortable in a terminal.
Download: Blocky on GitHub
Bottom line: Pick this when you want a tiny resolver you can drop on anything and forget.
6. Mullvad DNS, best for free privacy-respecting DNS
Mullvad DNS is the free, no-account public resolver Mullvad runs as part of its privacy infrastructure. Pointing the desktop at it gets you DoH or DoT with optional ad and tracker blocking, all without setting up a server or creating an account. There is no dashboard because there is nothing to configure: the blocking is on or off by which Mullvad endpoint you choose.
Where it falls short: No per-device customisation, no query logs, no blocklists you can tune. Take it as it comes.
Pricing:
- Free: Everything, no account required
- Paid: None
- vs Pi-hole: Pi-hole is configurable and on your own box. Mullvad DNS is a fire-and-forget public resolver.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Configure the OS or router DNS to point at Mullvad’s DoH endpoint. Done in two minutes.
Download: Mullvad DNS
Bottom line: Pick this when the goal is “ad blocking, no infrastructure, today.”
7. Unbound, best for power users who want a recursive resolver
Unbound is the NLnet Labs recursive resolver that most Pi-hole power users already use behind Pi-hole. Pull it forward as the primary resolver, drop a blocklist into the local zone, and you get DNSSEC-validated recursion from the root zone with no upstream provider seeing your queries. The desktop install runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Where it falls short: No dashboard at all. Blocklist management is a script you write and cron yourself. Logs are syslog.
Pricing:
- Free: Everything, BSD-licensed
- Paid: None
- vs Pi-hole: Pi-hole has a dashboard and an ecosystem. Unbound has neither, but offers true recursive resolution.
Migrating from Pi-hole: Install Unbound, replace Pi-hole’s forwarded upstream with the recursive Unbound install, optionally script a blocklist into the local zone.
Download: Unbound (NLnet Labs)
Bottom line: Pick this when the actual goal is recursive resolution, not just blocklisting.
How to choose
- Pick AdGuard Home for a clean Pi-hole replacement on the same hardware.
- Pick Technitium DNS if you want enterprise features in one binary.
- Pick NextDNS if you want zero infrastructure and laptop-portable protection.
- Pick ControlD if you want per-device profiles without paying.
- Pick Blocky if you want a tiny headless resolver.
- Pick Mullvad DNS if you want fire-and-forget blocking with no setup.
- Pick Unbound if recursive resolution is the actual goal.
- Stay on Pi-hole if the dashboard, the community, and the ecosystem are still the reason it works for your house.
FAQ
Can Pi-hole alternatives run on Windows desktop?
Yes. AdGuard Home, Technitium, NextDNS, ControlD, and Unbound all ship native Windows installers. Blocky runs in Docker Desktop on Windows.
Which Pi-hole alternative supports DNS-over-HTTPS natively?
AdGuard Home, Technitium DNS, NextDNS, ControlD, and Mullvad DNS all run DoH out of the box.
What is the best free Pi-hole alternative for a Synology NAS?
AdGuard Home or Pi-hole itself, both available through the Synology Docker package. Technitium also runs cleanly in a Synology container.
Do I still need a Raspberry Pi for any of these?
No. Every alternative in this list runs on desktop hardware (Windows, macOS, or Linux), in Docker, or as a hosted service. The Pi was always optional.
Can I keep my Pi-hole blocklists when I switch?
Yes. AdGuard Home, Technitium, and Blocky all accept the same hosts-style blocklists Pi-hole uses (StevenBlack, HaGeZi, EasyList, OISD). NextDNS and ControlD have their own UI for adding the same lists.
