nsdvsPi-hole
Two self-hosted DNS projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| nsd | Pi-hole | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 87/100 |
| Rank in category | #12 of 41 in DNS | #1 of 41 in DNS |
| GitHub stars | 574 | 61 542 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +2 | +498 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 6 |
| Latest release | NSD_4_15_4_REL · 21 Oct 2026 | v6.5 · 17 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Other |
| Main language | C | Shell |
Which one should you pick?
Pi-hole scores 87/100 against 60/100 for nsd, so it is the safer default.
nsd ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Pi-hole.
If you want the quickest setup, Pi-hole is easier to run; nsd needs more configuration.
Pi-hole is growing faster right now (+498 stars in 30 days).
nsd details →Pi-hole details →All DNS projects →
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