# ESPHome vs Pi-hole

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

| | ESPHome | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 87/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #1 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 11 979 | 61 548 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +257 | +486 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 ✓ | 6 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v6.5 · 17 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | C | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

Pi-hole scores 87/100 against 78/100 for ESPHome, so it is the safer default.

ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Pi-hole.

## Details

- [ESPHome](https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome.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/esphome-vs-pi-hole