AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi: CPU Benchmarks

Introduction

Why these Raspberry Pi DNS tests matter

AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi is the choice I run into every time I set up a new DNS sinkhole for a home or small office network. I want to know how each service uses CPU and RAM on boards like the Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Raspberry Pi 4, and how that load changes under real traffic and dnsperf stress tests. In this guide I walk through my test setup, show how to replay the same DNS workload against both tools, and explain what the numbers mean for everyday use. The goal is simple: give you clear steps and realistic expectations so you can pick a DNS stack that fits your Pi and your network.

Who this guide is for

Typical readers

Home users who want one Raspberry Pi to block ads and tracking on the whole network.
Parents who want DNS filtering for kids without breaking streaming apps or games.
Gamers who care about low DNS latency for online matches.
Small office owners who need stable DNS on a budget device.
Homelab fans who enjoy testing AdGuard Home, Pi-hole, and tools like Prometheus or Grafana.

What you should already know

Basic Raspberry Pi setup, like flashing Raspberry Pi OS Lite and using SSH.
Simple network ideas such as router, LAN, DHCP, and static IP addresses.
Running a few commands in a terminal on Linux.

If that sounds like you, this guide gives enough detail to repeat the tests and read the results without needing deep networking theory.

About these tests

Scope and setup

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, each on wired Ethernet.
Software: Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64 bit, AdGuard Home and Pi-hole from current stable releases at the time of writing.
Network: one home style router, a mix of laptops, phones, smart TVs, and IoT devices.
Load: a blend of real household traffic plus synthetic queries from dnsperf on a separate client.

What these results mean

Focus is on home and small office use, not on carrier or data center scale.
Numbers point to patterns you can expect on similar hardware and blocklists.
Exact results will change if you use different upstream resolvers, lists, or network gear.

Independence and transparency

No sponsorship or payment from AdGuard, Pi-hole, or hardware vendors.
Settings and test steps are written so you can repeat them and compare with your own graphs.

You can expand this box later with your real test dates, software versions, and any raw data you decide to publish.

Quick TL;DR: AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi

Fast summary for busy readers

Use case	AdGuard Home on Pi	Pi-hole on Pi
Simple ad blocking	Very good	Very good
Fine grained client rules	Strong built in profiles	Good with groups and adlists
CPU load on Pi 4	Low for home traffic	Low for home traffic
Encrypted DNS (DoH / DoT)	Built in	Needs helper such as DoH proxy
Logging and stats	Clean DNS focused views	Gravity database and classic charts
Homelab integrations	Works with Prometheus, etc.	Works with Prometheus, etc.

How to read this table

The rest of the article walks through CPU, memory, DNS latency, stability, and a full test plan so you can match these tools to your own network.

For a small home with a few devices, either tool on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ or Raspberry Pi 4 will usually be fine.

For many clients, large blocklists, or encrypted DNS, a Raspberry Pi 4 with at least 2 to 4 GB RAM gives more comfort.

Test bench: Raspberry Pi hardware, OS, and network layout

Hardware profiles for the tests

The test bench uses two boards as DNS sinkholes: a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. Each node runs a Broadcom system on chip with four ARM CPU cores and boots from a microSD card. The Raspberry Pi 3B+ has 1 GB of RAM, while the Raspberry Pi 4 test unit uses 4 GB of RAM so that high query rates do not push the system into swap. Both boards connect to power supplies that meet the official current rating to avoid brownouts during stress runs.

Cooling, ambient temperature, and thermal throttling

Cooling affects CPU usage data. Each Raspberry Pi board sits in a case with a heatsink on the SoC and a small fan controlled by the OS. Ambient temperature stays close to normal room temperature so the SoC does not hit the thermal limit. Logs from the OS show if the CPU ever enters thermal throttling. These records keep CPU graphs honest when AdGuard Home or Pi-hole runs heavy workloads during dnsperf tests.

Operating systems and kernel choices

The software stack for both DNS blockers uses a light server setup. Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64 bit serves as the base on both boards so package versions match. The OS runs a recent Linux kernel from the stable repository and uses systemd to manage services. The package manager keeps AdGuard Home and Pi-hole dependencies aligned. This way, CPU and memory differences come from the DNS sinkhole software, not from a mixed OS stack.

Network layout in the home lab

The test network copies a simple home or small office LAN. An internet router acts as modem, gateway, and DHCP server for the subnet. Each Raspberry Pi sits on wired Gigabit Ethernet and has a static IP address outside the DHCP pool. The router hands out the Pi address as the primary DNS server for laptops, phones, smart TVs, game consoles, and IoT devices. Wi Fi clients send DNS queries through the access point to the same LAN, so both wired and wireless traffic hits the sinkhole.

DNS role and upstream resolver settings

In this layout each Raspberry Pi acts as a DNS resolver for the LAN and forwards requests to upstream DNS servers such as Cloudflare DNS, Quad9, or Google Public DNS. AdGuard Home and Pi-hole share the same upstream pair and the same timeout values. DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS can be enabled for separate runs, so any CPU penalty from encrypted DNS is clear in the data. Keeping DNS roles and upstream settings equal produces fair CPU and latency comparisons.

Test client placement and isolation

A separate client machine on the same switch generates synthetic load with dnsperf and similar tools. This client never runs AdGuard Home or Pi-hole, so its CPU graphs do not mix with the Raspberry Pi graphs. During real traffic tests, normal client devices continue to use streaming apps, web browsers, and games. Isolation of the test client, router, and Pi boxes in the same LAN lets queries per second, cache hit rates, and latency metrics reflect a realistic home network without outside noise.

Software setup for AdGuard Home and Pi-hole

Install methods: bare metal vs Docker

Software layout shapes CPU and memory use. Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole can run in two common ways on a Raspberry Pi:

Bare metal install from native packages or release archives
Docker container using Docker or Docker Compose

Bare metal install keeps one Linux service per DNS sinkhole and removes container overhead. This fits a light Raspberry Pi OS Lite system. Docker adds a small extra layer but makes upgrades and rollbacks easier. For fair tests, only one method should run at a time on the same board, with the same base image and kernel.

Service layout and systemd units

On Raspberry Pi OS Lite, systemd controls both DNS services. Each DNS resolver sits behind a dedicated unit file:

Component	AdGuard Home	Pi-hole
Service name	`adguardhome.service`	`pihole-FTL.service`
Default DNS port	53 UDP and TCP	53 UDP and TCP
Web panel port	3000 or 80/443 (if changed)	80 for lighttpd admin page
Log owner	`adguard` user or `root`	`pihole` and `pihole-FTL` users

Systemd starts these units on boot, tracks restarts, and sends logs to journald. This keeps CPU graphs tied to named processes, which later helps match load to either AdGuard Home or Pi-hole FTL.

AdGuard Home configuration on Raspberry Pi

AdGuard Home runs as a self-contained DNS server. A basic Raspberry Pi setup usually includes:

Binary stored in /opt/AdGuardHome or a similar directory
Config file with listening IP set to the Pi static address
DNS port set to 53 and web panel bound to a high port such as 3000
Upstream DNS servers such as Cloudflare DNS, Quad9, or Google Public DNS
Optional DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS endpoints for extra privacy

The admin panel allows blocklist import, CNAME inspection, and client rules. For CPU and memory tests, features like safe search and parental control can stay off at first. Later runs can turn them on so the impact of extra filtering logic on the ARM CPU is clear.

Pi-hole configuration on Raspberry Pi

Pi-hole builds its stack from a few parts:

pihole-FTL resolver engine
lighttpd web server for the admin dashboard
Gravity database that stores domains from blocklists

A typical test configuration on Raspberry Pi uses:

Static IP and DNS port 53 bound on the LAN interface
Upstream DNS choices that match the AdGuard Home setup
DNSSEC switch either on for both tools or off for both tools
Web admin at http://pi.hole/admin over HTTP on port 80

FTL handles DNS queries and packets, while lighttpd only serves the web interface. This split lets the tests track FTL CPU usage by watching that daemon alone.

Aligning blocklists and upstream DNS servers

For a fair AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi test, both DNS sinkholes need the same filter material and upstream path. That usually means:

Importing the same ad blocklist, tracking blocklist, and malware blocklist
Matching EasyList style sources or OISD across both stacks
Setting the same pair of upstream DNS servers on each device
Using the same timeout and retry values for upstream queries

With aligned blocklists and upstream servers, differences in CPU usage, queries per second, and latency reflect the engines themselves rather than the lists behind them.

Logging, query retention, and privacy settings

Query logs and statistics pages help users see blocked domains, top clients, and cache hit rate. They also change resource use. To keep tests repeatable, both tools should use similar settings:

Turn on query logging for both, with the same retention window
Use the same level of detail for per-client and per-domain stats
Rotate logs on a matching schedule so SD card writes stay similar
Keep privacy modes equal, such as anonymized vs full IP logging

With aligned logging and privacy settings, graphs from Prometheus or another exporter can show clear CPU, RAM, and disk patterns for each DNS resolver under the same load.

Test methodology for CPU, memory, and DNS performance

Test goals and measurement focus

The test plan compares AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi by watching three main areas: CPU usage, memory footprint, and DNS performance. Each run links queries per second, cache hit rate, and latency back to a specific Raspberry Pi board and DNS resolver. The same blocklists, upstream DNS servers, and logging settings keep the focus on the engines, not on extra features.

Synthetic DNS load generation with dnsperf

Synthetic load keeps input repeatable. A separate client machine on the same switch runs dnsperf or a similar tool and sends DNS queries to the Raspberry Pi address on port 53. Test files for dnsperf include:

Common web domains
Mixed A and AAAA records
A share of domains that are known to be blocked
Some random entries to force cache misses

Two modes help show behavior:

Cache cold runs, where the resolver cache is cleared before the test
Cache warm runs, where a first pass fills the cache and later runs reuse it

By changing the dnsperf rate, the tests can step through different loads, such as 100, 500, 1,000, or more queries per second.

Real traffic replay from a home network trace

Synthetic runs do not show every pattern from real use. To bring in daily use, the test client can replay a captured DNS trace from a home network. This trace holds domains from streaming services, social sites, news pages, game platforms, and IoT devices. A replay tool sends the same sequence of DNS requests against AdGuard Home and Pi-hole in separate runs. This keeps the number of queries, the bursty patterns, and the mix of blocked and allowed domains as close as possible between both DNS sinkholes.

Scenarios: idle, light load, and heavy stress

Each Raspberry Pi sees several distinct scenarios.

Idle scenario:

No dnsperf load
Only background devices such as IoT units and phones
Useful for base CPU and RAM usage at rest

Light load scenario:

A modest dnsperf rate that copies a small household
A few laptops and phones browsing sites during the evening
Helps show how often the CPU leaves idle state

Heavy stress scenario:

High dnsperf rate that pushes queries per second toward the limit
Background traffic from real devices still present
Used to find the point where latency grows and packet loss begins

These scenarios map to choices like home user, gamer with many sessions, or small office with many clients.

Metrics for CPU usage and system load

CPU metrics come from the Raspberry Pi itself. Tools such as top, htop, or a Prometheus node exporter record:

Total CPU utilization percentage
Per-core usage for the four ARM cores
User time and system time for the DNS processes
Load average over 1, 5, and 15 minutes

Each AdGuard Home process and each pihole-FTL process has its own entry. This links peaks in CPU usage to a given test phase, such as a burst from dnsperf or a spike during blocklist updates.

Metrics for memory, swap, and disk I/O

Memory and storage data come from /proc, free, and exporter metrics. Key values include:

Resident memory size for AdGuard Home and for pihole-FTL
Total used RAM on the Raspberry Pi board
Swap usage, if any, during long or heavy runs
Disk I/O rates on the microSD card from logs and databases

On Pi-hole, gravity database updates and query logs affect write volume. On AdGuard Home, its own query log and statistics do the same. Measuring writes per second and average latency helps show which stack stresses the SD card more under equal settings.

DNS performance: latency, QPS, and cache behavior

For DNS behavior, dnsperf and query logs provide several key metrics:

Average response time in milliseconds
Percentiles such as p50, p95, and p99 latency
Maximum sustainable queries per second before latency spikes
Cache hit rate and cache miss rate

The dnsperf client records latency for each query. The DNS logs show how many requests come from cache and how many go upstream to servers like Cloudflare DNS or Quad9. By pairing these records, testers can see how cache hits reduce latency and how extra work such as CNAME inspection or regex rules adds time.

Monitoring stack with Prometheus and Grafana

To store and plot time series data, a Prometheus server scrapes a node exporter from each Raspberry Pi and, if available, an exporter from each DNS service. A Grafana dashboard then shows:

CPU usage and per-core graphs
Memory usage and swap trends
Disk I/O activity on the microSD card
DNS query rate and cache hit ratio over time

Sampling every few seconds provides enough detail to catch short spikes during blocklist updates or sudden dnsperf bursts. The same dashboard layout runs for both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole sessions, which keeps visual comparison direct.

Run length, repetition, and stability checks

Short runs reveal peak performance, but longer runs show stability. The test plan includes:

Short 5 to 10 minute runs at fixed dnsperf rates for QPS and latency charts
Medium 1 hour runs with light and moderate load for CPU and RAM trends
Long 24 hour runs under normal household traffic for uptime and memory growth

During long runs, logs record any service crash, restart, or error message. System logs also mark power events, upstream DNS timeouts, and network drops. This helps tell if either AdGuard Home or Pi-hole shows memory leaks or recurring faults under real daily traffic.

Equal conditions for fair comparison

To keep AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi fair, each pair of runs uses:

The same Raspberry Pi hardware and OS image
The same blocklists, upstream DNS servers, and timeout values
The same logging depth and retention rules
The same dnsperf query file and rate schedule

Only one DNS sinkhole runs at a time on each board. This way, process-level CPU usage, queries per second, and latency tie directly to that service and not to a mixed stack. With repeatable inputs and shared conditions, any gap in CPU load or performance points back to differences in the DNS engines and their data handling.

CPU usage results for AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole

Idle CPU usage on Raspberry Pi boards

At idle, with only background clients active, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole sit near the bottom of the CPU graph on Raspberry Pi hardware. Tests and reports from small servers and Raspberry Pi setups show that normal DNS traffic creates almost no sustained CPU load for either resolver, often only a few percent of one core. Netweaver+1

Typical idle pattern:

State	AdGuard Home	Pi-hole
DNS role only, no web use	Very low CPU	Very low CPU
Web dashboard open	Short spikes	Short spikes
Blocklist updates running	Short spikes	Short spikes

The main difference at rest is not the DNS engine, but whether the web dashboard stays open in a browser and how often blocklists refresh.

Light load: web browsing and streaming traffic

Under light load, such as a family browsing sites, watching a stream, and checking mail, AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi still shows gentle CPU usage. Articles that compare both tools on light VPS or single board systems report that CPU time stays small for common traffic, since DNS packets are tiny and caches absorb repeat lookups. Netweaver+1

On a Raspberry Pi 3B+ or Raspberry Pi 4, this looks like:

Short bursts on one or two cores during query peaks
Quick returns to low usage between bursts
No sign of thermal throttling with basic cooling in place

In this range, web page load time is driven more by the internet line and remote servers than by the DNS sinkhole CPU time.

Heavy synthetic load and queries per second limits

Heavy synthetic tests with tools like dnsperf help find the point where each resolver starts to strain. Community benchmarks and blog posts that time many queries in a row show that Pi-hole can answer slightly faster in some forwarder setups, but the gaps sit in the low millisecond range. Stargazer+2Netweaver+2

Under rising dnsperf rates:

Both engines handle moderate queries per second on Raspberry Pi 4 without saturating all cores
Pi-hole sometimes reaches a given QPS level with a touch less CPU time, thanks to its compact resolver stack
AdGuard Home may draw a little more CPU under the same rate when extra features such as CNAME inspection stay active

The key point for home use is that both stay well within the limits of a quad core ARM Cortex A72 before the network or upstream DNS becomes the bottleneck.

Effect of encrypted DNS on CPU usage

Encrypted DNS changes the picture more than basic filtering. AdGuard Home includes DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS in its own process, while Pi-hole often relies on an external helper like cloudflared or a local proxy. Pi-hole Userspace+2Netweaver+2

On Raspberry Pi this pattern appears:

With plain UDP or TCP port 53, CPU usage remains very low for both tools
With DoH or DoT enabled on AdGuard Home, CPU usage increases, since TLS handshakes and encryption use extra cycles
With Pi-hole plus an external DoH proxy, CPU time spreads across the FTL process and the helper process, but total CPU use is in the same ballpark

For small home networks, extra CPU from encryption still fits inside the headroom of Raspberry Pi 4 and newer boards.

Per core usage and Raspberry Pi model differences

Raspberry Pi models affect how CPU load spreads:

Raspberry Pi 3B+ has four slower cores, so bursts from blocklist updates or dnsperf appear as taller spikes on graphs
Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 have faster cores and more RAM, so the same dnsperf rate looks smoother with extra idle time left between bursts globaltill.com

In practice:

A Raspberry Pi 3B+ suits a small home with modest traffic and plain DNS
A Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB or more offers extra headroom for encrypted DNS, large blocklists, and many clients

AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi show very similar CPU shapes on both boards. Choice of blocklist size, encryption, and logging depth creates more difference in CPU graphs than the tool name on most home setups.

Impact of blocklist size and rule complexity on CPU load

Blocklists and rules drive how hard the filtering engine needs to work per query. Public tests and guides point out that both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole stay light with default or medium sized lists, but large combined lists or complex regex rules can grow CPU use under peak DNS load. Netweaver+2Usman Masood Ashraf+2

Practical patterns:

Large host lists or many Adblock style rules add work during cache misses
Regex based blocking and CNAME inspection push per query cost higher
Client specific rules and group features add lookups inside the engine

On Raspberry Pi hardware this means that tuning lists and rules often brings more gain than switching between AdGuard Home and Pi-hole when CPU usage looks high on graphs.

Memory, disk, and network footprint

RAM footprint at idle and under load

Memory usage shapes how well a Raspberry Pi handles DNS for many clients. On both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole, the main consumers are the resolver process, the cache, and the web dashboard.

At idle, with only a few background devices, RAM usage for AdGuard Home and for pihole-FTL usually sits well under 512 MB, even when the board has 4 GB installed. The rest of the memory holds the Linux kernel, file cache, and small system services. When queries per second rise, extra memory goes into:

Larger DNS cache tables for A and AAAA records
In memory representations of blocklists and gravity database entries
Buffers used for query logs and statistics pages

On Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB of RAM, both DNS sinkholes keep enough free space for the OS file cache and other light services such as Prometheus node exporter. On Raspberry Pi 3B+, memory margins shrink faster, so aggressive query logging or extra daemons can push the system nearer to swap.

Effect of blocklists and gravity database on memory

Blocklist size controls a large share of the memory footprint. Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole load many domain names into memory to speed up matches. Pi-hole stores its combined lists in the gravity database, then FTL uses compact in memory structures during lookups. AdGuard Home builds its own internal tables from lists such as OISD or EasyList style sources.

When blocklists grow from a few hundred thousand entries to several million entries, each DNS engine needs more RAM to keep:

Hash tables or tries for domain name lookups
Indexes for group and client specific rules
In memory representations of regex filters and CNAME inspection rules

For a Raspberry Pi with 1 GB of RAM, very large lists can crowd out cache space and increase pressure on the kernel. For a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB of RAM, the same lists leave more buffer for file cache and other services, so the system stays more responsive under load.

Swap usage and memory safety margins

Swap activity is a warning sign during DNS tests. When physical RAM fills, the kernel moves less used pages to swap space on the microSD card. This slows every task, not just DNS. On a Pi, even modest swap writes lengthen response times because SD card latency is much higher than RAM.

To keep swap inactive or nearly empty during AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi tests, a few practical steps help:

Set conservative blocklist sizes on 1 GB boards
Keep query log retention short rather than indefinite
Avoid running heavy extras such as full desktop environments on the same Pi
Watch vmstat or exporter metrics for swap in and swap out events

If swap stays at zero during light and heavy runs, memory usage is within safe limits for that hardware and configuration.

Disk I/O patterns on the microSD card

Disk usage focuses mainly on the microSD card, which stores the OS, gravity database, query logs, and AdGuard Home configuration. DNS packets themselves do not touch storage, but logs and periodic updates do.

Typical write sources are:

Query logs from AdGuard Home and Pi-hole
Gravity database updates when blocklists refresh
Log rotation and system journal writes
Temporary files from updates and backups

A simple comparison looks like this:

Activity	AdGuard Home	Pi-hole
DNS query logging	Text or JSON log	Text log plus FTL internal stats
Blocklist storage	Flat list files	Gravity database on disk
Update method	Downloader in AdGuard Home	`pihole -g` to rebuild gravity database
Web stats sources	Log and internal DB	Gravity DB and FTL

Higher logging levels and long retention windows increase writes, which can shorten SD card life on busy networks. For long term use, external storage or careful log rotation reduces wear.

Network bandwidth to upstream DNS servers

Network footprint measures how much traffic each DNS sinkhole sends and receives. On the LAN side, DNS packets are small and add only a tiny share of total home traffic compared to streaming video or game downloads. On the WAN side, upstream DNS traffic depends on cache hit rate and encryption.

Important contributors to bandwidth are:

Cache misses that send queries to upstream servers such as Cloudflare DNS, Quad9, or Google Public DNS
DNS over HTTPS sessions that wrap many queries inside HTTP connections
DNS over TLS sessions that keep long lived TLS channels open

When cache hit rate is high, repeated requests from clients for popular domains stay local on the Raspberry Pi and never reach the upstream resolver. When cache hit rate is low, more upstream traffic appears, but even then the absolute volume is modest in comparison with other household flows.

Plain DNS vs encrypted DNS traffic patterns

Plain DNS over UDP or TCP on port 53 uses very small packets for each query and response. Encrypted DNS changes the shape of the traffic but not the intent.

With DoH, DNS queries travel inside HTTPS streams on port 443
With DoT, queries use TLS over port 853
TLS handshakes and keep alive packets increase byte counts, but still stay small compared to media streams

On Raspberry Pi, these patterns matter more for CPU usage than for raw bandwidth. From a network footprint view, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole plus DoH proxy keep total DNS traffic low compared to normal web and video use.

LAN performance and single board network limits

On the local network, the Raspberry Pi connects through Fast Ethernet on a 3B+ board or Gigabit Ethernet on a 4 Model B. DNS traffic is tiny enough that even Fast Ethernet easily handles dnsperf loads during tests. The limit appears only at very high synthetic queries per second where each packet adds interrupt and kernel overhead.

For normal households, the main network factors are:

Using wired Ethernet for the Raspberry Pi instead of Wi Fi
Keeping the board on the same switch or router as heavy client devices
Avoiding unstable power that might cause microSD corruption and retransmits

With stable cabling and power, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole process DNS packets well below the capacity of the Ethernet link.

Balancing memory, disk, and network settings for each tool

Resource tuning on Raspberry Pi mixes several small choices instead of one large change. Practical adjustments include:

Picking blocklists that fit the hardware, rather than every available list
Setting log retention so query logs show useful history without filling the SD card
Turning on encrypted DNS only when privacy needs justify extra CPU and RAM
Using an external SSD or network share for logs on very active networks

AdGuard Home and Pi-hole respond to these adjustments in similar ways. When memory, disk, and network settings stay within the comfort zone of the board, both tools perform well, and differences between them shrink compared to the effect of hardware choice and configuration.

DNS latency, queries per second, and cache behavior

Baseline latency on Raspberry Pi

DNS latency on a Raspberry Pi with AdGuard Home or Pi-hole usually sits in the low single digit millisecond range on a home LAN. The network hop from client to Pi and back is short, so most of the delay comes from the upstream resolver when a cache miss occurs. When the cache holds the answer, both tools answer much faster because no external lookup is needed. On Raspberry Pi 4, local responses often feel instant to users opening web pages or starting a stream.

Cache warm vs cache cold behavior

Cache behavior explains many of the visible differences in page load speed.

In a cache cold state, the first set of queries for a site travels to upstream DNS servers such as Cloudflare DNS, Quad9, or Google Public DNS.
In a cache warm state, repeat queries for the same domains come straight from the Raspberry Pi.

Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole store A and AAAA records along with their time to live values. When many clients in a house visit the same popular sites, cache hit rate rises and the share of slow upstream lookups falls. This pattern reduces average latency and keeps peaks under control even during busy hours.

Queries per second and practical limits

Queries per second reflect how many DNS requests the sinkhole can answer before latency starts to climb. On a Raspberry Pi 4, both tools can handle far more QPS than a normal household generates. Only heavy synthetic tests with dnsperf or similar tools get near the ceiling.

A simple way to think of QPS on this hardware:

A small household with a few active devices sends a modest stream of DNS queries.
A large household with many streaming boxes and game consoles still stays far below the synthetic rates used in stress tests.
Only deliberate load tests or very busy small office setups come close to the point where latency curves bend upward.

In practice, the upstream resolver, the internet line, or Wi Fi congestion tends to affect user experience before raw DNS QPS on the Raspberry Pi does.

Impact of blocklists and CNAME inspection on latency

Filtering features shape how long each query spends inside the resolver.

Large blocklists increase the amount of work needed to check each domain and any linked CNAME records.
Regex rules add extra pattern matching steps for some queries.
Client specific rules require additional lookups inside the ruleset.

Both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole handle these steps efficiently, but under very high QPS the extra checks add small increments to latency. On a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with slower cores, this overhead shows up earlier than on a Raspberry Pi 4. For most home setups, picking a balanced set of lists and avoiding very heavy regex patterns keeps response times short.

Latency percentiles and user experience

Average latency numbers can look fine even when some users notice slow moments. Percentiles help show this pattern.

p50 latency shows the middle value and often stays very low on both tools.
p95 and p99 latency show the occasional slower responses, often during bursts or upstream delays.

When most queries finish quickly but a few take longer, users may feel a brief pause when opening a new site or starting a new stream. Logs and dnsperf reports can highlight whether those slow points align with cache misses, upstream resolver timeouts, or local CPU spikes from blocklist updates.

Effect of encrypted DNS on latency

Encrypted DNS changes latency patterns slightly. DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS add work for TLS handshakes and encryption, but they also keep long lived connections open. This means:

The very first queries after a restart can be slower while the TLS session is set up.
Later queries reuse the open session, so latency returns close to plain DNS levels.

On Raspberry Pi 4, the extra delay from encryption tends to stay small for home traffic. The gain in privacy comes at a modest cost in latency that many users never notice in normal browsing.

Cache tuning for different network sizes

Cache settings on AdGuard Home and Pi-hole let admins match behavior to their network. Key levers include:

Maximum cache size in entries
Time to live limits for positive and negative answers
Handling of DNSSEC records when enabled

On a small household network, even a modest cache size can capture most common domains. On a larger small office network, a bigger cache or longer TTL for some records can keep hit rates high. Tuning these settings on Raspberry Pi hardware keeps latency curves flat across the day and reduces the number of slow upstream lookups during busy periods.

Summary of latency and QPS behavior

Taken together, tests and field reports point in a consistent direction. For realistic home and small office loads on Raspberry Pi, AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both:

Keep local DNS latency very low for cached answers
Handle far more queries per second than typical networks produce
Show similar response time patterns, with differences driven more by cache hit rate, blocklist choices, and encrypted DNS settings than by the core tool name

This means that careful tuning of cache and filtering options on the chosen Raspberry Pi model does more for day to day DNS speed than switching between the two engines solely for latency reasons.

Stability, long run behavior, and fault handling

Uptime on Raspberry Pi for 24/7 DNS

Raspberry Pi boards are built to stay on all day. Community reports show Pis running for weeks or years without reboots when powered and cooled correctly. Raspberry Pi Stack Exchange+1 With AdGuard Home or Pi-hole as the only main service, a Raspberry Pi 3B+ or Raspberry Pi 4 usually keeps DNS available around the clock. Many homelab users report months of stable use for both DNS sinkholes when they keep the OS lean and avoid heavy extra software on the same board. Simple Home Lab+1

Service restarts, updates, and long term load warnings

During long runs, the main causes of downtime are updates and misconfiguration, not the DNS engines themselves. Pi-hole includes a warning when long term load stays higher than the number of CPU cores, which signals that the board is near its comfort limit and DNS might slow under spikes. Pi-hole Userspace+1 Support threads show that this warning often appears during apt upgrades or other background tasks on low power boards, while Pi-hole itself remains efficient when DNS is the primary workload. Pi-hole Userspace AdGuard Home users on Raspberry Pi and other small systems report stable behavior for daily use, especially when the board runs only DNS, Unbound, or similar network tools. Medium+1

Memory growth, logs, and long runs

Over days and weeks, memory growth usually relates to logs and long term statistics, not the basic DNS loop. A Pi-hole user with millions of stored queries on an older Raspberry Pi found that large long term databases placed strain on storage and stability, which led to a redesign that exported logs to another server. Connor Tumbleson This pattern can apply to both tools:

Very long query history on the microSD card increases I/O and data size.
Large local databases or heavy analytics on the Pi create extra CPU and memory load.
Shipping long term logs to a different machine keeps the Raspberry Pi focused on live DNS.

Shorter local retention and offloading old data help both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole stay steady over long periods.

Handling upstream DNS failures and network outages

When upstream DNS or the internet link fails, both sinkholes still accept queries from clients on the LAN. In this state they can answer cached domains, but cache misses hang until an upstream server responds or the timeout passes. When the upstream line returns, both services usually recover without manual steps because they simply resume forwarding new cache misses. Guides for AdGuard Home and Pi-hole describe this pattern and recommend at least two upstream resolvers so one outage does not hold every new lookup. RaspberryTips+2Crosstalk Solutions+2

Power loss, SD card wear, and data safety

The biggest long term risk for a Raspberry Pi DNS server is the microSD card. Raspberry Pi forums and Pi-hole write ups note that cards can wear out or corrupt when many small writes happen over months or years. Raspberry Pi Forums+2Connor Tumbleson+2 Query logs, gravity database updates, and OS logs all contribute to writes. Practical steps for both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole include:

Using high quality SD cards from known brands.
Reducing write frequency with shorter logs and careful rotation.
Moving logs to external SSD or network storage for busy networks.
Adding a small UPS or surge protection to lower the chance of sudden power cuts.

These steps protect any long running Raspberry Pi service, not just DNS.

Crash behavior, recovery, and monitoring

When configuration mistakes or rare bugs occur, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole can stop or restart their main process. System logs and each tool’s own logs help pinpoint the cause. Pi-hole exposes warnings in its web interface when long term load or database size becomes a concern. Pi-hole Userspace+1 AdGuard Home release notes and user reports often highlight stability improvements across versions, such as better handling of high query rates and large lists. MalwareTips Forums+1

On a Raspberry Pi, simple monitoring raises confidence:

A Prometheus node exporter shows whether CPU, memory, or load drift upward over days.
A watchdog script or systemd setting can restart the service if it exits unexpectedly.
External uptime checks from another host confirm that DNS stays reachable.

With these safeguards in place, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole can act as steady DNS platforms on Raspberry Pi hardware for long stretches of time.

Practical stability tips for home and small office use

For everyday use in a house or small office, good stability habits are similar for both tools:

Keep the OS lean, using Raspberry Pi OS Lite instead of a full desktop image. Pi-hole Userspace+1
Limit background services so DNS remains the main job.
Plan blocklist size and query retention around the RAM and storage of the board.
Test updates during quiet periods, and reboot on a schedule that matches comfort level.

Real world posts from Raspberry Pi owners running AdGuard Home or Pi-hole show that with this approach, even older boards can run 24 or more months with very few interruptions apart from planned maintenance. Raspberry Pi Stack Exchange+2Raspberry Pi Forums+2

Privacy features and usability that influence performance

Privacy modes and data collection settings

Privacy settings change how each DNS sinkhole treats client data. AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both offer options that reduce stored details about users and devices. Stronger privacy modes often mean less data kept in query logs and long term tables. Shorter logs lower disk writes and can trim memory use because fewer entries sit in RAM caches. When a house sets strict privacy, the Raspberry Pi spends less time writing statistics and more time answering DNS queries.

Encrypted DNS choices and their tradeoffs

Encrypted DNS features protect lookups between the Raspberry Pi and upstream resolvers. AdGuard Home can speak DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS directly, while Pi-hole usually pairs with a helper such as a DoH proxy. Encryption adds CPU work for each TLS session. On Raspberry Pi 4, this extra work still fits inside available CPU headroom for home use, but it shows up on graphs as higher average load compared to plain DNS. Careful users enable encryption when they want privacy from their provider and accept the small bump in CPU time.

Blocklist management and update behavior

Blocklist handling has a clear link to resource use. AdGuard Home downloads filter lists and turns them into its own internal tables. Pi-hole pulls lists into the gravity database and lets FTL use compressed views. Larger blocklists and more frequent updates raise CPU bursts and disk writes during refreshes. On a Raspberry Pi with limited RAM or an older microSD card, many heavy lists can slow updates and increase wear. Picking a few trusted lists for ads, tracking, and malware keeps the update window short and leaves more time for actual DNS resolution.

Parental control tools and safe search features

Parental control and safe search options give households extra filtering layers. AdGuard Home can apply rules to block adult sites, enforce safe search on engines, and tag profiles per client. Pi-hole can build similar behavior with tailored blocklists and group management. Each extra check adds another rule lookup every time a domain appears. When many rules act on every family device, DNS queries use a bit more CPU per step. On Raspberry Pi 4 this overhead stays modest. On Raspberry Pi 3B+ or on busy networks, admins may choose a smaller rule set that targets only the most needed categories.

Web interfaces, dashboards, and admin comfort

Web dashboards help admins see what is happening in real time. AdGuard Home focuses its interface on DNS statistics, filtering rules, and client views. Pi-hole shows gravity data, long term graphs, and top item lists. Opening these dashboards creates short CPU and memory spikes while pages draw charts and search logs. If a dashboard stays open on a browser tab all day, it keeps a small but constant load on the Raspberry Pi because it refreshes charts and pulls new logs. Closing the tab after checks or using longer refresh intervals cuts this overhead and leaves the board more idle time.

Role of logs and long term statistics in performance

Logs shape both privacy and performance. Detailed per client logs reveal which device contacted which domain, but they also grow fast on active networks. AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both allow tuning log depth and retention. Long retention improves insight but increases disk use and can slow down queries against log tables. Short retention protects privacy and reduces microSD wear. On a Raspberry Pi used only for DNS, a balanced plan keeps a few days or weeks of logs locally and sends older data to another system that handles reporting. This keeps DNS quick while still allowing audits and reports when needed.

Tuning usability settings for different user types

Different households and small offices care about different features. A gamer might focus on low latency and simple ad blocking, so a light blocklist and minimal logging match that goal. A family that values parental control might accept a bit more CPU use to gain stronger filters and detailed logs. A small office owner might turn on encrypted DNS and structured reports to align with policy. Each choice among these usability options changes CPU usage, memory footprint, and disk patterns on the Raspberry Pi. Thoughtful tuning of privacy and usability settings lets each AdGuard Home or Pi-hole setup match the users while staying within hardware limits.

Scenario based recommendations for Raspberry Pi setups

Simple home network with a few devices

For a small flat or house with one router, a handful of phones, a laptop, and a smart TV:

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 3B+ or Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 2 GB RAM, wired by Ethernet to the router.
DNS role: one DNS sinkhole, no extra services on the same Pi.
Software pick:
- AdGuard Home works well when a clean web interface, easy client rules, and quick setup matter.
- Pi-hole fits users who like the classic gravity database view and simple ad blocking.
Settings: medium sized blocklists, plain DNS on port 53, short query log retention to reduce microSD wear.

In this scene CPU usage stays very low, so the choice rests on which dashboard feels clearer to the person managing the network.

Busy family network with many clients

A larger family often owns many smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, and IoT devices. DNS traffic rises as each device talks to tracking and analytics domains.

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B with 4 GB RAM and a good power supply.
DNS features: shared ad blocklist, tracking blocklist, and malware blocklist across all clients.
AdGuard Home focus:
- Strong per client rules and profiles for different age groups.
- DNS over HTTPS or DNS over TLS enabled for privacy to upstream resolvers.
Pi-hole focus:
- Group features with gravity lists tuned for kids, guests, and adults.
- Optional pairing with Unbound as a local recursive resolver.

Both stacks should use Prometheus node exporter and a light Grafana dashboard to watch CPU, RAM, and cache hit rate during peak evening use. This protects the family from slowdowns when many people stream at once.

Gamer focused Raspberry Pi DNS setup

Low latency matters to online games more than raw QPS. A gamer wants fast DNS answers and low jitter.

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 on wired Gigabit Ethernet, placed near the gaming router.
DNS settings:
- Plain UDP DNS to cut extra TLS overhead, unless privacy policy demands encryption.
- Small but high quality blocklists that avoid breaking game launchers or voice chat.
- High cache size so popular game domains stay in memory.
AdGuard Home angle:
- Fine control over per device blocking, so a console can use lighter filters than a browser.
Pi-hole angle:
- Simple gravity tuning and a clear list of blocked domains for quick whitelisting when a game fails to connect.

Graphs from dnsperf tests and real game sessions help show whether median and p95 latency stay low while matches are in progress.

Small office network with mixed workloads

A small office can include laptops, phones, VoIP phones, printers, and cloud applications. DNS becomes part of the reliability story for staff.

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 5, often two units for redundancy, each on wired Ethernet.
Network layout: router and managed switch, with the Pi boxes acting as primary and secondary DNS resolvers.
Policy needs:
- Logging that keeps clear records of domains for security reviews.
- Optional malware blocklists for phishing and command and control domains.
- Possible DNS over TLS to a trusted upstream provider.
AdGuard Home strengths: built in parental style categories that can double as simple content control for guest Wi Fi.
Pi-hole strengths: gravity database with clear reporting for the IT admin and easy integration with existing Linux tools.

In this environment, both tools should export metrics to a central Prometheus and Grafana stack, so the admin can watch QPS, cache hit rate, and CPU usage next to other office services.

Power user and homelab Raspberry Pi deployment

Homelab enthusiasts often run more complex stacks. The DNS role might sit beside containers, local services, and monitoring tools.

Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 with 8 GB RAM or a Raspberry Pi 5, often backed by SSD instead of microSD.
Extra components: Docker, Docker Compose, Unbound, local certificate authority, InfluxDB or Prometheus, and custom scripts.
AdGuard Home scenario:
- Runs in a Docker container, paired with Unbound for full recursive DNS.
- Uses advanced rules, client tags, and encrypted DNS upstream for backup.
Pi-hole scenario:
- Runs next to Unbound, Telegraf, and other collectors that feed metrics to a separate time series database.
- Exports long term DNS logs to another host to keep the Pi free of heavy reporting tasks.

In these labs, both AdGuard Home and Pi-hole can take part in more complex setups, such as split horizon DNS for internal services, or staged dnsperf runs that test different combinations of blocklists and upstream resolvers. A power user might even run each DNS sinkhole on a separate Raspberry Pi and compare them side by side using identical query streams.

Choosing based on habits and support needs

Different users care about different aspects of the stack:

Non technical home users usually prefer the interface that makes blocklists and client names easy to manage.
Gamers watch ping and want quick ways to whitelist game related domains.
Small office admins look for clear logs and stable behavior during work hours.
Homelab owners seek integration with tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and dnsperf.

AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both handle these roles on Raspberry Pi hardware when given suitable blocklists, logging policies, and hardware specs. The best fit often follows the person’s habits, preferred interface style, and comfort with Linux tooling rather than a sharp gap in raw CPU performance.

Step by step guide to reproduce these tests on a Raspberry Pi

Prepare the Raspberry Pi hardware

Set up the board before any DNS work:

Use a Raspberry Pi 3B+, 4, or 5 with a good power supply.
Insert a quality microSD card, 16 GB or larger.
Plug Ethernet from the Pi to a LAN port on the router or switch.
Connect a monitor and keyboard for first boot, or plan to use SSH.

This gives a stable base for AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi tests.

Install Raspberry Pi OS Lite and update packages

A light OS keeps noise out of CPU and memory graphs.

Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite 64 bit to the microSD card with tools such as Raspberry Pi Imager.
Boot the Pi, set a strong password, and enable SSH.
Run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

After reboot, install a few basics:

sudo apt install -y git curl htop net-tools

Now the OS is clean and ready for DNS services.

Assign a static IP address on the LAN

The DNS sinkhole needs a fixed address so clients can find it.

Decide on a free IP outside the router’s DHCP range, for example 192.168.1.10.
Use sudo nmtui or edit /etc/dhcpcd.conf or NetworkManager settings so the Pi keeps this IP.
Confirm with:

ip addr
ping 192.168.1.1

In the router admin page, set the Pi’s IP as the primary DNS server for the LAN.

This ties all client DNS traffic to the test board.

Install AdGuard Home for the test run

Install AdGuard Home first and test it alone.

Download the release build:

cd /opt
sudo mkdir AdGuardHome
sudo chown $USER:$USER AdGuardHome
cd AdGuardHome
curl -s -L https://static.adguard.com/adguardhome/release/AdGuardHome_linux_arm64.tar.gz \
  -o adguard.tar.gz
tar -xzf adguard.tar.gz

Run the installer once:

./AdGuardHome -s install

Open the web setup page from a browser on the LAN, usually at http://<Pi-IP>:3000.
Set:

DNS listening IP to the static address.
DNS port to 53.
Web port to 3000 or 80/443 if preferred.

Add upstream DNS servers such as Cloudflare DNS or Quad9.

Keep extra features like parental control off for the first performance run.

Install Pi-hole for the test run

After AdGuard Home tests finish, remove or disable it, then install Pi-hole.

Stop and uninstall AdGuard Home service:

sudo AdGuardHome -s stop
sudo AdGuardHome -s uninstall
sudo rm -rf /opt/AdGuardHome

Install Pi-hole with its standard script:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

During the wizard, choose:

The same interface and static IP used before.
The same upstream DNS servers as AdGuard Home.
Web admin on port 80.

After setup, open http://pi.hole/admin or http://<Pi-IP>/admin and confirm that DNS queries appear in the dashboard.

Only one DNS sinkhole runs at a time so CPU graphs stay clear.

Set matching blocklists and upstream DNS servers

To keep AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi fair, match filter and upstream settings.

For AdGuard Home:

In the Filters section, add the chosen ad, tracking, and malware lists.
Disable extra lists that are not in the Pi-hole test.

For Pi-hole:

In Group Management → Adlists, add the same list URLs.
Run pihole -g to rebuild the gravity database.

On both tools:

Set the same pair of upstream resolvers, for example Cloudflare and Quad9.
Use similar timeout and retry values if the option exists.

Now both stacks see the same domain list and send misses to the same resolvers.

Set up dnsperf on a client machine

A separate client drives synthetic DNS load.

Pick a Linux, macOS, or BSD machine on the same LAN as the Pi.
Install dnsperf from the package manager or from source.
Create a domain file, for example domains.txt, that includes:
- Popular web and streaming domains.
- A mix of blocked entries from the chosen blocklists.
- Some random domains to force misses.
Run test commands, such as:

dnsperf -s 192.168.1.10 -d domains.txt -l 60 -Q 200
dnsperf -s 192.168.1.10 -d domains.txt -l 60 -Q 800

Here -Q controls queries per second and -l controls test length in seconds.

Add Prometheus node exporter and a basic Grafana dashboard

Time series graphs help read CPU, RAM, and network trends.

On the Raspberry Pi:

sudo useradd -rs /bin/false node_exporter
cd /opt
sudo mkdir node_exporter
cd node_exporter
curl -L https://github.com/prometheus/node_exporter/releases/latest/download/node_exporter-*arm64.tar.gz \
  -o node_exporter.tar.gz
tar -xzf node_exporter.tar.gz --strip-components=1
sudo ./node_exporter &

On a separate monitoring host:

Run a Prometheus server that scrapes the Pi’s node exporter.
Run Grafana and import a simple Linux host dashboard for CPU, memory, load, and network.

This setup links each dnsperf run to visible charts.

Run idle, light, and heavy test cycles

For each DNS tool, repeat the same pattern.

Idle run: no dnsperf. Watch the Pi with only normal devices active for at least 15 minutes.
Light run: dnsperf at a low rate, for example 100 QPS, for 10 to 15 minutes.
Heavy run: dnsperf at a high rate, for example 800 to 1,500 QPS, for 10 to 15 minutes.

During each run:

Note CPU usage, per core load, and memory usage.
Record dnsperf latency averages and percentiles.
Check cache hit rate in the DNS dashboard.

Run the same cycle once with plain DNS and again with encrypted DNS if needed.

Export logs and metrics for comparison

After all runs finish for both tools:

Export dnsperf results to CSV or text files.
Export query logs or summary tables from AdGuard Home and Pi-hole.
Use Prometheus or Grafana to download time series for CPU, RAM, and network.

Simple tables make the comparison clear, for example:

Scenario	Tool	Avg CPU %	Max QPS	Avg latency ms	Cache hit %
Idle	AdGuard Home
Idle	Pi-hole
Light load	AdGuard Home
Light load	Pi-hole
Heavy load	AdGuard Home
Heavy load	Pi-hole

Filling this table with measured values gives a clear picture of AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi performance.

Key points summary

AdGuard Home vs Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi performance
AdGuard Home and Pi-hole both run well on Raspberry Pi boards. For normal home or small office traffic, CPU usage stays low, even on a Raspberry Pi 3B+. On a Raspberry Pi 4, there is plenty of headroom for larger blocklists and encrypted DNS.

CPU and memory behavior
Under idle and light browsing, each DNS sinkhole uses only a small slice of one core. Heavy dnsperf tests can raise CPU usage but still fit within a quad core Raspberry Pi 4. Memory use is shaped mainly by blocklist size, cache, and logging. Large lists and long query history raise RAM needs more than the choice between the two tools.

DNS latency, QPS, and cache effects
For cached answers on a local network, both tools reply in a few milliseconds or less. Queries per second from a normal house stay far below stress test levels. Cache warm states improve speed far more than switching engines. Blocklist size, regex rules, and encrypted DNS add small latency, but upstream resolver delay and Wi Fi quality often matter more for users.

Stability and long run behavior
With Raspberry Pi OS Lite, good power, and basic cooling, both DNS sinkholes run for long periods without trouble. The main risks are SD card wear from heavy logs and problems during large updates. Shorter log retention, careful blocklist plans, and optional external storage keep the system steady for months of 24/7 DNS.

Use case based choices
For a small home, either tool on a Pi 3B+ or Pi 4 works well. Busy families and small offices benefit from a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB or more. Gamers may lean toward lighter blocklists and plain DNS for low latency. Homelab users often choose based on integration style, such as AdGuard Home with profiles or Pi-hole with gravity views and external Prometheus or InfluxDB stacks.

FAQ

Is a Raspberry Pi 3B+ enough for AdGuard Home or Pi-hole?
For a modest home network, a Raspberry Pi 3B+ usually handles both tools without CPU issues. Light blocklists and short logs help keep RAM and I O within safe margins. For many devices, encrypted DNS, or very large lists, a Raspberry Pi 4 is safer.

Does AdGuard Home use more CPU than Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi?
In many reports and tests, both tools show similar CPU usage for normal traffic. Small gaps appear under heavy synthetic load, especially when AdGuard Home runs features like CNAME inspection and extra filters. For day to day browsing on a Raspberry Pi 4, the difference is often hard to notice.

Which is better for encrypted DNS on a Pi, AdGuard Home or Pi-hole?
AdGuard Home can speak DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS directly. Pi-hole usually runs with a helper like cloudflared or another proxy. Total CPU cost is in the same range, but it is spread across different processes. A Raspberry Pi 4 has enough power for home use in either setup.

Will large blocklists slow my Raspberry Pi DNS server?
Very large lists raise memory use and add work per query. On 1 GB boards this can push the system near swap during busy times. On a 4 GB Raspberry Pi 4 the same lists are easier to handle. Picking a few strong lists and avoiding huge overlaps keeps performance smooth.

Should DNS, Prometheus, and Grafana all run on the same Raspberry Pi?
For small tests or labs, one board can run DNS and basic monitoring. For long term use, especially with many clients, it is safer to keep AdGuard Home or Pi-hole on one Pi and run Prometheus and Grafana on another device or server. That way DNS keeps fast responses even when dashboards are busy.

References

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