head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs MasterDnsVPN
AdGuardHome has 36,990 GitHub stars, 2,523 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. MasterDnsVPN has 7,036 stars, 799 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 426% (36,990 vs 7,036 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 11%. 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 | ★ 37K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 799 |
| 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 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
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 MasterDnsVPN
MasterDnsVPN is a Go based DNS tunneling VPN that carries TCP traffic inside DNS queries and responses, built for censorship bypass in networks where normal VPN transports are blocked, and aimed at self hosters, researchers and users in heavily filtered environments.
read the full MasterDnsVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or MasterDnsVPN more popular?
AdGuardHome has 36,990 GitHub stars and MasterDnsVPN has 7,036. 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 (36,990 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose MasterDnsVPN if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.