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Monitoring, Logs & Errorsdocker-readypermissive-license100% FOSS🟢 Lightweight · ~256MB

AdGuard Home: Open Source alternative to NextDNS in 2026

AdGuard Home blocks ads and trackers network-wide at the DNS level with native DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS support and parental controls, as a free, self-hosted alternative to NextDNS.

Alternative to NextDNS
License GPL-3.037.4k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v0.107.79 · 1 month ago

  • Docker Compose — Verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

AdGuard Home vs. NextDNS

Pros

  • Native DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS without needing an extra proxy, unlike Pi-hole
  • More modern statistics dashboard than Pi-hole's

Things to consider

  • Smaller third-party blocklist community than Pi-hole's

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on NextDNS.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
services:
  adguardhome:
    image: adguard/adguardhome:v0.107.77
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "3000:3000"
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - adguard_work:/opt/adguardhome/work
      - adguard_conf:/opt/adguardhome/conf
volumes:
  adguard_work:
  adguard_conf:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=adguard-home" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
GPL-3.0
Category
Monitoring, Logs & Errors
Replaces
NextDNS
Tech stack
Go

Under the hood

Database

None / File-based

Language

Go

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Network-wide ad and tracker blocking at the DNS level
  • Native DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS support
  • Parental controls and per-client filtering profiles

Preview

AdGuard Home interface preview

Public image provided by AdGuard Home on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:53
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy