head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs docktail
AdGuardHome has 37,463 GitHub stars, 2,545 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. docktail has 1,282 stars, 48 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 2,822% (37,463 vs 1,282 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; docktail is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, docktail 4%. AdGuardHome was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (golang), 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 | docktail | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 48 |
| 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 docktail if
- You want the docktail feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and docktail 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 docktail
DockTail is an AGPL 3.0, Go based tool that watches Docker containers, reads their docktail. labels, and exposes matching containers as native Tailscale Services, for self hosters and infrastructure teams that want tailnet reachable services without a Tailscale device per application.
read the full docktail overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or docktail more popular?
AdGuardHome has 37,463 GitHub stars and docktail has 1,282. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and docktail free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and docktail under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and docktail?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and docktail 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 docktail?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (37,463 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose docktail if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.