head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs SoftEtherVPN
AdGuardHome has 36,973 GitHub stars, 2,521 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SoftEtherVPN has 13,562 stars, 2,781 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 173% (36,973 vs 13,562 stars). AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; SoftEtherVPN is written in C under Apache-2.0. AdGuardHome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, SoftEtherVPN 21%. 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 | SoftEtherVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 14K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 SoftEtherVPN if
- You want the SoftEtherVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and SoftEtherVPN 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 SoftEtherVPN
SoftEther VPN is an open source, cross platform, multi protocol VPN server and client, written in C and licensed under Apache 2.0, intended for administrators and self hosters who need one program to serve many VPN protocols instead of running several separate daemons.
read the full SoftEtherVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or SoftEtherVPN more popular?
AdGuardHome has 36,973 GitHub stars and SoftEtherVPN has 13,562. AdGuardHome has the larger community by that measure.
Are AdGuardHome and SoftEtherVPN free?
Both are open source. AdGuardHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SoftEtherVPN under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AdGuardHome and SoftEtherVPN?
AdGuardHome is written in TypeScript and SoftEtherVPN in C. 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 SoftEtherVPN?
Choose AdGuardHome if you want the larger community (36,973 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose SoftEtherVPN if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.