head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs dns.toys
AdGuardHome has 37,074 GitHub stars, 2,523 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. dns.toys has 2,828 stars, 186 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 1,211% (37,074 vs 2,828 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; dns.toys is written in Go under MIT. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, dns.toys 7%. AdGuardHome was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (dns), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| AdGuardHome | dns.toys | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-25 | 2026-02-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 186 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AdGuardHome if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick dns.toys if
- You want the dns.toys feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and dns.toys fits your workflow better
About AdGuardHome
AdGuard Home is a free and open source, network wide DNS server that blocks ads and trackers for every device on a network, aimed at self hosters, homelab operators, and network administrators who want filtering without installing client side software on each device.
read the full AdGuardHome overview →
About dns.toys
dns.toys is an MIT licensed DNS server, written in Go, that takes creative liberties with the DNS protocol to deliver everyday utilities — weather, world time, unit and currency conversion, IP lookup and more — to anyone with a terminal and a dig command.
read the full dns.toys overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or dns.toys more popular?
AdGuardHome has 37,074 GitHub stars and dns.toys has 2,828. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and dns.toys free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and dns.toys under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and dns.toys?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and dns.toys in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, AdGuardHome or dns.toys?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (37,074 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose dns.toys if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.