# beam vs Pi-hole

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | beam | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 61/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #29 of 125 in AI | #1 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 1 834 | 61 536 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +47 | +492 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 364 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | gateway-0.1.837 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | v6.5 · 17 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

Pi-hole scores 87/100 against 61/100 for beam, so it is the safer default.

beam ships more often: 364 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Pi-hole.

If you want the quickest setup, Pi-hole is easier to run; beam needs more configuration.

Pi-hole is growing faster right now (+492 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [beam](https://selfhost.directory/project/beam) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/beam.md)
- [Pi-hole](https://selfhost.directory/project/pi-hole) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pi-hole.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/beam-vs-pi-hole