head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs pivpn
AdGuardHome has 36,990 GitHub stars, 2,523 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pivpn has 8,043 stars, 682 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 360% (36,990 vs 8,043 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; pivpn is written in Shell under MIT. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, pivpn 8%. AdGuardHome was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | pivpn | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 8.0K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 682 |
| 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 pivpn if
- You want the pivpn feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pivpn 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 pivpn
PiVPN is a set of open source shell scripts that turns a Raspberry Pi, or an Ubuntu or Debian server, into a self hosted VPN server running WireGuard or OpenVPN, and it is built for people who want a cost effective personal VPN at home without having to become a networking expert.
read the full pivpn overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or pivpn more popular?
AdGuardHome has 36,990 GitHub stars and pivpn has 8,043. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and pivpn free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and pivpn under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and pivpn?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and pivpn in Shell. 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 pivpn?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (36,990 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pivpn if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.