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Pi-hole Review

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Should I use Pi-hole?

Block ads everywhere - pi-hole.net

· 22 hours ago

Buy if you're comfortable running a Raspberry Pi and patching it yourself — it's free and effective. Skip it if you want plug-and-play, vendor support, or a hardened security appliance.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~60 public sources; review snippets were truncated, so verbatim user quotes are limited.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Self-hosted (open source)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
Hardware~$15
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Homelab hobbyists
  • Privacy-focused households
  • Whole-home ad blocking
  • Spare-Raspberry-Pi owners

Not for

  • Non-technical users who want plug-and-play
  • Businesses needing vendor support or compliance
  • People who won't patch a self-hosted server
  • Anyone unwilling to troubleshoot DNS outages

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

If the Pi goes down, home DNS can fail until you fix it.

high

Exploit history: July 2026 update patched 'highly risky' vulnerabilities.

medium

You are the admin: updates, backups, and security patches are all on you.

low

No official support channel; answers depend on community goodwill.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free, open-source software with all features included
  • Blocks ads network-wide, including smart TVs
  • Runs on a $15 Raspberry Pi Zero 2W
  • Detailed dashboard logs every DNS query
  • Very active community on Reddit and forums

Cons

  • You supply hardware and do the setup yourself
  • Multiple 2026 CVEs, including remote code execution
  • Can't block ads inside YouTube or encrypted traffic
  • Single Pi failure takes down whole-network DNS
  • Some reviewers switched to 'more powerful' alternatives

Sources & method

- 8 sources - Popular open-source blocker, but 2026 brought several CVEs including RCE — you must patch it yourself, fast.

official x1review x5security x2
  • CVE-2026-35520 — FTL Engine RCE, Remote code execution vulnerability in Pi-hole's FTL engine, disclosed April 2026.
  • CVE-2026-35517 — FTLDNS RCE, Remote code execution in FTLDNS, published April 2026.
  • CVE-2026-50130 — Privilege escalation, Pi-hole privilege-escalation vulnerability, July 2026.
  • CVE-2026-26953 — Web Interface XSS, Cross-site scripting in the Pi-hole web interface, May 2026.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 8

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free software; runs on $15 hardware
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Web UI helps; setup needs hardware and DNS changes
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Deep DNS filtering and logs; misses encrypted traffic
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community forums only; no paid support
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple 2026 CVEs, including RCE
  • $0 Software price Free, open-source
  • ~$15 Minimum hardware Raspberry Pi Zero 2W setup
  • Yes Free tier Fully free, donation-funded
  • 9+ CVEs listed 2024–2026 Incl. RCE and privilege escalation

Pricing

Self-hosted (open source)

$0

  • All features free, forever
  • BYO hardware: ~$15+ Raspberry Pi
  • Donation-funded project

Security

Popular open-source blocker, but 2026 brought several CVEs including RCE — you must patch it yourself, fast.

  • CVE-2026-35520 — FTL Engine RCERemote code execution vulnerability in Pi-hole's FTL engine, disclosed April 2026.⁷
  • CVE-2026-35517 — FTLDNS RCERemote code execution in FTLDNS, published April 2026.
  • CVE-2026-50130 — Privilege escalationPi-hole privilege-escalation vulnerability, July 2026.
  • CVE-2026-26953 — Web Interface XSSCross-site scripting in the Pi-hole web interface, May 2026.

What users say

Home users praise the network-wide blocking and dashboard, but some have moved to self-hosted alternatives.

“Forget about Pi-hole, I switched to this more powerful self-hosted alternative”
How-To Geek

Alternatives

Compare Pi-hole with each alternative.

  • uBlock Origin

    Browser-only ad blocking: zero setup, zero hardware.

Full analysis

Based on ~60 public sources; review snippets were truncated, so verbatim user quotes are limited.

Free, powerful network-wide ad blocking — if you'll run and patch it yourself. Otherwise use a managed alternative.

Methodology

Based on ~60 public sources; review snippets were truncated, so verbatim user quotes are limited.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Pi-hole – Network-wide Ad Blocking (official)pi-hole.net
    official
  2. Still worth it? : r/piholereddit.com
    review
  3. The Beauty Of Having A Pi-hole | Denden.dev
    review
  4. A $15 Raspberry Pi Zero 2W does Pi-hole better than any spare PCxda-developers.com
    review
  5. Forget about Pi-hole, I switched to this more powerful self-hosted alternativehowtogeek.com
    review
  6. Ad blocker Pi-hole: Update patches highly risky security vulnerabilitiesheise.de
    security
  7. CVE-2026-35520: Pi-hole FTL Engine RCE Vulnerabilitysentinelone.com
    security
  8. Pi-hole: Details, Reviews, Pricing, & Featurescheckthat.ai
    review

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