Pi-hole
Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and monitoring.
Pi-hole vs Technitium DNS Server
Two self-hosted DNS apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Pi-hole | Technitium DNS Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Blackhole for Internet advertisements with a GUI for management and monitoring. | Authoritative/recursive DNS server with ad blocking functionality. |
| GitHub stars | 61,667 | 10,304 |
| Forks | 3.4k | – |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 37 | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 262 | 593 |
| Last activity | 2026-10-17 | 2026-11-04 |
| Latest release | v6.5 (2026-10-17) | v15.6.2 (2026-10-17) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | EUPL-1.2 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language / platform | Shell, PHP, Docker | Docker, C# |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | DNS | DNS |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Pi-hole is more popular on GitHub: 61.7k stars vs 10.3k for Technitium DNS Server.
- Technitium DNS Server had more commits in the last 12 months (593 vs 262).
- Technitium DNS Server has more recent repository activity (2026-11-04 vs 2026-10-17).
- Pi-hole is licensed under EUPL-1.2, Technitium DNS Server under GPL-3.0.
- Pi-hole is written in Shell, PHP; Technitium DNS Server in C#.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Pi-hole: Docker; Technitium DNS Server: Docker.
Summary: Pi-hole leads on GitHub popularity; Technitium DNS Server leads on commit activity and recent activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pi-hole or Technitium DNS Server more popular?
Pi-hole has more GitHub stars (61,667 vs 10,304 for Technitium DNS Server, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Pi-hole or Technitium DNS Server?
Technitium DNS Server had more commits over the last 12 months (593 vs 262). The last recorded activity was 2026-10-17 for Pi-hole and 2026-11-04 for Technitium DNS Server. Our health labels: Pi-hole is “Active”, Technitium DNS Server is “Active”.
What licenses do Pi-hole and Technitium DNS Server use?
Pi-hole: EUPL-1.2. Technitium DNS Server: GPL-3.0.
Can I run Pi-hole and Technitium DNS Server with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Pi-hole and Technitium DNS Server. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
Technitium DNS Server
Authoritative/recursive DNS server with ad blocking functionality.
Browse all self-hosted DNS apps.