head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs OpenSurge-for-Mac
AdGuardHome has 36,970 GitHub stars, 2,520 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenSurge-for-Mac has 2,367 stars, 166 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 1,462% (36,970 vs 2,367 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; OpenSurge-for-Mac is written in Go under GPL-3.0. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, OpenSurge-for-Mac 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 | OpenSurge-for-Mac | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 166 |
| 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac if
- You want the OpenSurge-for-Mac feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and OpenSurge-for-Mac 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac
OpenSurge for Mac is an open source, GPL 3.0 macOS gateway and control plane that turns a Mac into a Surge style whole home transparent proxy gateway with IPv4 and IPv6 support, built for home network operators and small labs that want per device routing without swapping out their main router.
read the full OpenSurge-for-Mac overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or OpenSurge-for-Mac more popular?
AdGuardHome has 36,970 GitHub stars and OpenSurge-for-Mac has 2,367. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and OpenSurge-for-Mac free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OpenSurge-for-Mac under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and OpenSurge-for-Mac?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and OpenSurge-for-Mac 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (36,970 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenSurge-for-Mac if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.