# nsd vs Pi-hole

> Two self-hosted [DNS projects](https://selfhost.directory/dns), 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 | 61 544 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +2 | +482 ✓ |
| 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 (+482 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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