Blocky vs Pi-hole: Lightweight DNS Blocking
Quick Verdict
Pi-hole is the better choice for most users — it has a polished web UI, massive community, extensive blocklist ecosystem, and handles everything a home network needs. Blocky wins on resource efficiency and configuration-as-code — it’s a single Go binary with YAML config, no database, no web UI. Choose Blocky if you want minimal overhead and GitOps-friendly DNS blocking. Choose Pi-hole for the best overall experience.
Overview
Pi-hole is the most popular DNS-level ad blocker for self-hosting. It provides a web dashboard, query logging, analytics, DHCP, and a large ecosystem of community blocklists. Built with PHP and FTLDNS (forked dnsmasq). Pi-hole site
Blocky is a lightweight DNS proxy and ad blocker. It’s a single Go binary with zero dependencies — no database, no web server, no PHP. Configuration is a single YAML file. Blocky GitHub
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Blocky | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Web UI | No (API only) | Yes (full dashboard) |
| Configuration | YAML file | Web UI + CLI |
| Ad blocking | Blocklists (same format as Pi-hole) | Blocklists (gravity system) |
| Query logging | File/stdout | Database (SQLite/FTL) |
| Statistics/analytics | Prometheus metrics | Built-in dashboard |
| DHCP | No | Yes |
| DNS-over-HTTPS upstream | Yes | Via cloudflared proxy |
| DNS-over-TLS upstream | Yes | Via stubby proxy |
| DNSSEC | Yes | Via upstream |
| Per-client/group rules | Yes (via client groups) | Yes (v5 group management) |
| Conditional forwarding | Yes | Yes |
| Custom DNS records | Yes (in config) | Yes (local DNS) |
| Regex filtering | Yes | Yes |
| Whitelist/blacklist | Yes (in config) | Yes (UI) |
| Multi-instance sync | Yes (Redis) | No (separate instances) |
| Health check | Built-in endpoint | Via API |
| Docker image | spx01/blocky | pihole/pihole |
| Runtime | Go (single binary) | PHP + dnsmasq + lighttpd |
| RAM (idle) | ~10-20 MB | ~60-100 MB |
| License | Apache-2.0 | EUPL-1.2 |
Installation Complexity
Blocky is deployed as a single container with a YAML config file. No volumes needed (stateless). No web installer, no admin password — just write your config and start. The learning curve is in understanding the YAML configuration options.
Pi-hole requires more initial setup — environment variables for the admin password, volume mounts for configuration and log persistence, and port mappings. The web UI guides you through remaining setup. More steps but more accessible for non-technical users.
Performance and Resource Usage
| Metric | Blocky | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~10-20 MB | ~60-100 MB |
| RAM (large blocklists) | ~30-50 MB | ~200-400 MB |
| CPU | Minimal | Low |
| Disk | 0 (stateless) | ~1 GB (with logs) |
| Startup time | ~1 second | ~10-30 seconds |
Blocky is dramatically lighter. It loads blocklists into memory and runs as a single process. Pi-hole runs multiple processes (lighttpd, PHP-FPM, pihole-FTL) and maintains a SQLite database for query logging.
Community and Support
Pi-hole has the larger community by far — 50,000+ GitHub stars, active subreddit, extensive documentation, hundreds of third-party guides. If you have a problem, someone else has solved it.
Blocky has a growing community (~5,000 GitHub stars). Documentation is good but less extensive. The maintainer is responsive. Community is technically oriented — fewer beginner guides.
Use Cases
Choose Blocky If…
- You want the lightest possible DNS blocker
- You prefer configuration-as-code (YAML in Git)
- You don’t need a web UI (use Grafana for dashboards)
- You run multiple instances and want Redis-based sync
- You’re running on resource-constrained hardware
- You want DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS upstream without extra proxies
Choose Pi-hole If…
- You want a web dashboard for monitoring and management
- You need DHCP in the same tool
- You want access to the largest blocklist ecosystem
- Non-technical household members need to manage whitelist/blacklist
- You want the most community resources and guides
- You prefer point-and-click configuration
Final Verdict
Pi-hole for most users. The web UI, DHCP integration, community resources, and blocklist ecosystem make it the most complete solution. It’s what most people think of when they hear “self-hosted ad blocking.”
Blocky for infrastructure-minded users. If you manage your infrastructure as code, want Prometheus metrics in Grafana, and value minimal resource usage, Blocky is elegant. It pairs well with existing monitoring stacks and GitOps workflows.
FAQ
Can Blocky use Pi-hole’s blocklists?
Yes. Blocky supports the same blocklist format as Pi-hole. Most community blocklists (Steven Black, OISD, etc.) work with both.
How do I get a dashboard for Blocky?
Blocky exposes Prometheus metrics. Set up Prometheus + Grafana and import a Blocky dashboard (community dashboards available). It’s more setup than Pi-hole’s built-in dashboard but integrates with your existing monitoring.
Can Blocky replace Pi-hole entirely?
For DNS blocking, yes. Blocky doesn’t include DHCP — if you use Pi-hole’s DHCP, you’d need to move that to your router or a separate DHCP server.
Which blocks more ads?
They use the same blocklists, so blocking effectiveness is identical. The difference is in management and monitoring, not blocking capability.
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