head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs MasterDnsVPN
AdGuardHome has 38,121 GitHub stars, 2,594 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MasterDnsVPN has 7,304 stars, 756 forks, 20 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 422% (38,121 vs 7,304 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; MasterDnsVPN is written in Go under MIT. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, MasterDnsVPN 10%. 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 | MasterDnsVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 756 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AdGuardHome if
- You weight community size — 38K 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 MasterDnsVPN if
- You want the MasterDnsVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and MasterDnsVPN fits your workflow better
About AdGuardHome
Privacy protection center for you and your devices Free and open source, powerful network wide ads & trackers blocking DNS server. AdGuard.com Wiki Reddit Twitter Telegram AdGuard Home is a network wide software for blocking ads and tracking. After you set it up, it'll cover ALL your home devices, and you don't need any client side software for that. It operates as a DNS server that re routes tracking domains to a “black hole”, thus preventing your devices from connecting to those servers. It's based on software we use for our public [AdGuard DNS] servers, and both share a lot of code. [AdGuard DNS]: Getting…
read the full AdGuardHome overview →
About MasterDnsVPN
MasterDnsVPN Project 🔐 🇮🇷 فارسی 🇬🇧 English 🇷🇺 Русский 🇨🇳 中文 🇪🇸 Español 🇮🇹 Italiano MasterDnsVPN is a scientific and research oriented project for carrying TCP traffic through DNS queries and responses. In broad goal, it is similar to projects such as DNSTT or SlipStream, but it follows a fundamentally different structure and implementation approach. This system is designed around compatibility with many resolver behaviors and harsh network conditions, with the goal of preserving the highest possible stability and data delivery even in the worst cases. 📊 MasterDnsVPN Compared with Similar Projects ❌…
read the full MasterDnsVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or MasterDnsVPN more popular?
AdGuardHome has 38,121 GitHub stars and MasterDnsVPN has 7,304. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and MasterDnsVPN free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and MasterDnsVPN under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and MasterDnsVPN?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and MasterDnsVPN 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 MasterDnsVPN?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (38,121 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose MasterDnsVPN if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.