Self-Hosted Alternatives to Google DNS

Why Replace Google DNS?

Every DNS query you make tells your DNS provider which websites you visit, when you visit them, and how often. When you use Google’s public DNS (8.8.8.8), Google logs every query associated with your IP address. Google’s privacy policy states they store full IP + query logs for 24–48 hours and anonymized logs indefinitely.

This applies to Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1), OpenDNS, and every other third-party DNS provider too — you’re trusting them with your complete browsing history.

Running your own DNS server means:

• Your queries stay on your network. No third party sees your browsing patterns.
• Network-wide ad blocking. Block ads, trackers, and malware domains for every device — TVs, phones, IoT devices — without installing anything per-device.
• Custom filtering. Block categories (gambling, adult content) or specific domains. Useful for families.
• Encrypted DNS. Serve DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) or DNS-over-TLS (DoT) to your own devices, preventing ISP snooping.
• Full query logs under your control. See exactly what every device on your network is doing. Debug IoT devices phoning home.

Best Alternatives

AdGuard Home — Best Overall Replacement

AdGuard Home is the most complete self-hosted DNS solution. It combines DNS serving, ad blocking, encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT/DoQ/DNSCrypt), DHCP, per-client settings, and parental controls in a single binary. The web UI is clean and modern.

Out of the box, AdGuard Home does everything Google DNS does (resolve queries) plus everything Google DNS doesn’t (block ads, encrypt queries, give you privacy). Setup takes five minutes.

Why it wins:

• Built-in DoH/DoT/DoQ — no add-ons needed
• Per-client filtering rules
• DHCP server (can replace your router’s DHCP)
• Rewrites and custom DNS rules
• Safe Search enforcement for Google/YouTube/Bing

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host AdGuard Home

Pi-hole — Best Community Support

Pi-hole is the most popular self-hosted DNS ad blocker, with the largest community, the most third-party integrations, and the most blocklists available. It uses dnsmasq under the hood and has a detailed query log UI.

Pi-hole is excellent at ad blocking but requires add-ons for encrypted DNS (pair it with Unbound, cloudflared, or dnscrypt-proxy). It’s been around longer than AdGuard Home and has a more mature ecosystem.

Best for: Users who want the largest community, most blocklist options, and don’t mind adding Unbound for encrypted DNS.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Pi-hole

Blocky — Best Lightweight Option

Blocky is a DNS proxy written in Go that’s configured entirely via a YAML file. No web UI by default (there’s an optional API), minimal resource usage, and it supports DNS-over-HTTPS/TLS upstream out of the box.

Blocky is ideal if you want a DNS-level ad blocker that’s configured declaratively (infrastructure-as-code style) without a web dashboard.

Best for: Users comfortable with YAML configuration who want minimal resource usage and no web UI overhead.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Blocky

Technitium DNS — Best Full DNS Server

Technitium DNS is a full-featured authoritative and recursive DNS server with a comprehensive web UI. It goes beyond ad blocking — you can host your own DNS zones, configure split-horizon DNS, set up DNS failover, and manage advanced DNS features.

Best for: Users who want a complete DNS infrastructure tool, not just an ad blocker. Network admins, homelabbers running complex setups.

Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Technitium DNS

Migration Guide

Setting Up Your Self-Hosted DNS

1. Deploy your chosen DNS server using Docker (see individual app guides linked above)
2. Verify it works — run dig @your-server-ip google.com from another machine
3. Add blocklists — each app has a default set; add community lists for better coverage

Switching Your Network’s DNS

Option A: Change at the router (recommended)

1. Log in to your router’s admin panel
2. Find DHCP settings → DNS server fields
3. Set primary DNS to your self-hosted server’s IP
4. Set secondary DNS to your server’s IP too (or leave blank — a public fallback defeats the purpose)
5. Renew DHCP leases on clients: sudo dhclient -r && sudo dhclient (Linux) or reconnect to Wi-Fi

Option B: Change per-device

1. Set each device’s DNS to your server’s IP in network settings
2. Useful for testing before committing network-wide

Option C: Use your DNS server as DHCP (AdGuard Home / Pi-hole)

1. Disable DHCP on your router
2. Enable DHCP in AdGuard Home or Pi-hole
3. All devices automatically get your DNS server on their next lease renewal

Verifying the Switch

After changing DNS, verify it’s working:

# Should resolve and show your server as the DNS source
nslookup google.com your-server-ip

# Test ad blocking — should return 0.0.0.0 or NXDOMAIN
nslookup ads.google.com your-server-ip

Cost Comparison

Google and Cloudflare DNS are “free” but you pay with your browsing data. Self-hosting is free in money AND privacy.

What You Give Up

• Global anycast performance. Google and Cloudflare have DNS servers worldwide with single-digit millisecond latency. Your self-hosted DNS adds the latency of your server’s upstream resolution (10–50ms typically). After the first query, caching eliminates this for repeated lookups.
• DDoS resilience. Public DNS services absorb massive DDoS attacks. Your home server doesn’t. Mitigation: this is only relevant if your DNS is internet-facing, which it shouldn’t be for a home setup.
• Zero maintenance. Public DNS just works. Self-hosted DNS needs occasional updates and blocklist management.
• Automatic failover. Google DNS has built-in redundancy across data centers. If your server goes down, your network loses DNS. Mitigation: run a second Pi-hole/AdGuard Home instance on a different device.

The latency concern is overblown. DNS results are cached at multiple levels (your DNS server, your OS, your browser). After the first lookup, subsequent queries for the same domain are instant. In practice, you won’t notice any speed difference.

FAQ

Will self-hosted DNS slow down my internet?

No. DNS resolution adds milliseconds, and results are cached aggressively. Your self-hosted server caches queries locally, so repeated lookups are faster than querying Google’s servers. The first query for a new domain may take 20-50ms longer, but you won’t perceive this.

What happens if my DNS server goes down?

Your network loses DNS resolution — websites stop loading (they’ll still work by IP but not by name). Mitigate this by running two instances of your DNS server on separate devices (e.g., one on your main server, one on a Raspberry Pi).

Can I still use DoH/DoT with self-hosted DNS?

Yes. Your self-hosted DNS server queries upstream resolvers (like Cloudflare or Quad9) over encrypted DNS. Your clients can also query your DNS server over DoH/DoT if it supports it. AdGuard Home supports all encrypted DNS protocols out of the box.

Does DNS-level ad blocking work on YouTube?

Partially. YouTube serves ads from the same domains as regular content, making DNS-level blocking unreliable for YouTube ads specifically. It works well for banner ads, tracking scripts, and ads on most other sites. For YouTube ads, use a browser extension like uBlock Origin alongside DNS blocking.

Can I run this on a Raspberry Pi?

Absolutely. Pi-hole was originally designed for Raspberry Pi. AdGuard Home, Blocky, and Technitium all run comfortably on a Pi 4 or Pi 5. A Pi is actually ideal — low power consumption (3-5W), always-on, and dedicated to one job.

Related

• How to Self-Host Pi-hole
• How to Self-Host AdGuard Home
• How to Self-Host Blocky
• How to Self-Host Technitium DNS
• Pi-hole vs AdGuard Home
• Pi-hole vs Blocky
• Best Self-Hosted Ad Blockers
• Self-Hosted Alternatives to NextDNS
• Docker Compose Basics
• DNS Explained
• Networking Concepts