Quick answer: AdGuard Home and Pi-hole are DNS filters. On a VPS never open port 53 to the world – LAN, your IPs, or Tailscale only.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
AdGuard Home or Pi-hole?
AdGuard Home: one binary, built-in DoH/DoT, modern UI. Pi-hole: mature Gravity lists, often + unbound. Both block at DNS.
Open port 53 on a VPS?
Not as a public resolver – it will be abused. Limit to your IPs or VPN/Tailscale only.
Home or datacenter?
LAN box for all home devices. VPS as a DoH endpoint or Tailscale-only DNS.
RAM?
512 MB–1 GB for lists. Fine on a shared 4 GB VPS.