# AdGuard Home vs Designate

> Two self-hosted [DNS projects](https://selfhost.directory/dns), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | AdGuard Home | Designate |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 53/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 41 in DNS | #19 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 37 814 ✓ | 180 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +770 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 ✓ | 1 |
| Latest release | v1.0.0-b.1 · 30 Sept 2026 ✓ | 2024.1-eom · 31 Oct 2025 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

AdGuard Home scores 84/100 against 53/100 for Designate, so it is the safer default.

AdGuard Home ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for Designate.

If you want the quickest setup, AdGuard Home is easier to run; Designate needs more configuration.

AdGuard Home is growing faster right now (+770 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [AdGuard Home](https://selfhost.directory/project/adguard-home) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/adguard-home.md)
- [Designate](https://selfhost.directory/project/designate) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/designate.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/adguard-home-vs-designate