Pi-hole: Self-Hosted Network Ad Blocker

Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that blocks advertisements and trackers at the network level, protecting every device connected to your network without requiring per-device software. With over 55,000 GitHub stars, Pi-hole is the most widely deployed open-source DNS-based ad blocker. It works by intercepting DNS queries and filtering out requests to known advertising and tracking domains.

Running Pi-hole on a VPS lets you use it as a private DNS server accessible from anywhere, giving you ad-free browsing on mobile devices, laptops, and smart TVs — even outside your home network.

Key Features

• Network-wide ad and tracker blocking at the DNS level for all connected devices
• Web-based admin dashboard with real-time query logs and blocking statistics
• Customizable blocklists with community-maintained and personal allow/deny lists
• DHCP server capabilities for networks that need integrated IP management
• API for querying stats and managing configuration programmatically
• Regex-based filtering for advanced domain matching patterns
• Per-client blocking profiles to customize filtering by device
• Lightweight footprint that runs comfortably on minimal hardware

Why Self-Host Pi-hole?

Protect your entire network. Unlike browser-based ad blockers, Pi-hole filters DNS queries for every device on your network — including smart TVs, IoT devices, and mobile apps where you cannot install extensions. One Pi-hole instance covers your entire household or office.

Privacy at the DNS layer. Self-hosting your DNS resolver means your browsing queries never reach a third-party DNS provider. Combined with DNS-over-HTTPS upstream, Pi-hole gives you a fully private DNS pipeline that logs nothing beyond your own server.

Faster browsing and reduced bandwidth. By blocking ad requests before they reach your browser, Pi-hole eliminates unnecessary network traffic. Users typically see 15-30% fewer DNS queries after enabling Pi-hole, which translates to faster page loads and lower data usage.

Complete transparency. Pi-hole's query log shows you exactly which domains every device on your network is contacting. This visibility lets you identify telemetry, tracking, and unwanted connections that would otherwise be invisible.

System Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	1 vCPU	1+ vCPUs
RAM	512 MB	1 GB
Storage	5 GB SSD	10 GB SSD
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+	Ubuntu 24.04

Pi-hole is extremely lightweight. Even on a minimal VPS, it handles thousands of DNS queries per second without breaking a sweat. The main storage consideration is long-term query log retention if you enable detailed logging.

Getting Started

The fastest way to deploy Pi-hole on your VPS is with Docker Compose through Dokploy. Our step-by-step deployment guide walks you through the full setup, including persistent storage, environment configuration, and SSL.

Deploy Pi-hole with Dokploy →

Alternatives

• AdGuard Home — DNS ad blocker with built-in DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS and a modern interface
• Blocky — Lightweight DNS proxy with blocking capabilities written in Go
• Technitium DNS — Full-featured DNS server with ad blocking and advanced DNS management
• NextDNS — Cloud-based DNS filtering service with per-device profiles and analytics

FAQ

Does Pi-hole slow down my internet? No. Pi-hole typically makes browsing faster because blocked requests return instantly instead of loading ad content. DNS resolution through Pi-hole adds negligible latency — usually under 1 millisecond on a local network.

Can I use Pi-hole on a VPS instead of a Raspberry Pi? Absolutely. Running Pi-hole on a VPS is ideal if you want DNS-level ad blocking that follows you everywhere. Point your devices to your VPS IP as their DNS server, and you get ad blocking on any network — home, office, or mobile.

Will Pi-hole break any websites? Some websites detect ad blockers and may display warnings. Pi-hole's allow-list feature lets you quickly whitelist specific domains if a site breaks. The community maintains well-curated default blocklists that minimize false positives.

How do I update Pi-hole's blocklists? Pi-hole automatically updates its blocklists on a weekly schedule by default. You can trigger manual updates from the admin dashboard or via the command line. Adding new blocklist sources is done through the admin interface.

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App data sourced from selfh.st open-source directory.