AdGuard Home
A self hosted DNS server with network wide ad and tracker blocking, upstream load balancing, and custom local domain support.
AdGuard Home is a network wide DNS resolver and ad blocker that runs on your own hardware.
The problem it solves
By default, every device on your network sends DNS queries through your ISP or a public resolver. These queries expose your browsing activity across every device in the house. AdGuard Home intercepts all DNS traffic at the network level, checking each domain against community-maintained block lists before resolving it. Advertising networks, trackers, and malware domains are blocked before a single packet leaves your network.
Because it operates at the DNS level, it works for every device automatically: phones, tablets, smart TVs, and laptops, without installing anything on the devices themselves.
How it is deployed
AdGuard Home runs as a Docker container on an always-on device such as a Raspberry Pi 5. Once installed, the router is configured to point its DNS setting to the Pi's IP address. From that point every device on the network uses AdGuard Home for DNS resolution without any further configuration on individual devices.
It supports multiple upstream DNS resolvers with automatic load balancing and failover. If one upstream provider goes down, queries are automatically routed to the next. It also supports custom local DNS records, letting you create domain names that resolve to services running on your home network.
Pi-hole is an alternative with similar ad blocking capabilities. The official documentation and installation guide are at adguard.com/adguard-home.html.