head to head · open source
AdGuardHome vs SoftEtherVPN
AdGuardHome has 38,073 GitHub stars, 2,589 forks, 1,253 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. SoftEtherVPN has 13,698 stars, 2,800 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. AdGuardHome leads on adoption by 178% (38,073 vs 13,698 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 20%. 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 | ★ 38K | ★ 14K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 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
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 SoftEtherVPN
SoftEther VPN SoftEther VPN BOARD MEMBERS OF THIS REPOSITORY SOFTETHER VPN ADVANTAGES Installation For FreeBSD For Windows From binary installers (stable channel) Build from Source code Antivirus False Positive Detection About HTML5 based Modern Admin Console and JSON RPC API Suite Built in SoftEther VPN Server HTML5 Ajax based Web Administration Console Built in SoftEther Server VPN JSON RPC API Suite TO CIRCUMVENT YOUR GOVERNMENT'S FIREWALL RESTRICTION SOURCE CODE CONTRIBUTION DEAR SECURITY EXPERTS SoftEther VPN (Developer Edition Master Repository) An Open Source Cross platform Multi protocol VPN Program This…
read the full SoftEtherVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AdGuardHome or SoftEtherVPN more popular?
AdGuardHome has 38,073 GitHub stars and SoftEtherVPN has 13,698. 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 (38,073 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.