N
Control D vs Pi-hole
Price, audits and jurisdiction and who each one suits, side by side.
C
Choose Control D if…
- you want more money-back (days) (7 vs 0)
- you're in its core audience: it and security teams, managed service providers
P
Choose Pi-hole if…
- you're in its core audience: home lab enthusiasts, families
Side by side
Feature Control D Pi-hole
Cost over 2 years$60—
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, APILinux, Self-hosted, Web, API
CategorySmart DNS & DNS privacyAd & tracker blockers
CompanyControl D, Inc.Pi-hole
Full feature lists
C Control D
- ML-based malware and phishing domain blocking
- 20 content categories plus custom rules
- One-toggle blocking for 1,000+ services
- DoH, DoH/3, DoT, DoQ and legacy DNS support
- Traffic redirection via proxies in 69 countries
- 30-day query logs and 1-year analytics
- SIEM streaming to Splunk or MS Sentinel
- Multi-tenant dashboard with API and CLI
P Pi-hole
- Network-wide DNS-level ad and tracker blocking
- Built-in web dashboard with query statistics
- Long-term query log with advanced filtering
- Group-based blocklists per device
- Regex allow and deny rules plus community blocklists
- Optional built-in DHCP server with IPv6 support
- Full REST API with built-in interactive docs
- Teleporter backup and restore of the full configuration
Their home pages
What each vendor shows first: the pitch, the plans and the sign-up.
Control D · controld.com
Pi-hole · pi-hole.netWhat you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
| Team size | Control D | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $2 SMB | no published plan |
| 5 people | $10 SMB | no published plan |
| 20 people | $40 SMB | no published plan |
All plans and prices
Control D
SMB$2/endpoint/month
School / Non-profitCustom
MSP / ChannelCustom
EnterpriseCustom
Pi-hole
Free. Plan details aren't published.
Strengths and limitations
Control D
- Low self-serve price of $2 per endpoint per month
- 14-day free trial with no credit card
- Native clients for all major desktop and mobile OSes
- API access and 30-day query logs on every plan
- MSP, school and enterprise pricing requires contacting sales
- Live engineer sessions, Slack support and migration help are limited to higher tiers
- Custom storage regions cost extra
Pi-hole
- Covers every device on the network from one install
- Runs on modest hardware like a Raspberry Pi or in Docker
- Open source, with code on GitHub
- Full REST API and a detailed query log
- Needs a self-hosted Linux machine or Docker
- Router DNS or DHCP changes are needed for network-wide use
- Mobile protection away from home needs a separate VPN setup
More comparisons
Other options to consider
N
Free, from $1.99/mo
N
Cloud DNS firewall that blocks threats, ads, trackers and adult content
Smart DNS & DNS privacyFree plan
A
AA
Freemium
A
Ad-blocking DNS that filters ads, trackers and adult content on all devices
Smart DNS & DNS privacyFree planOpen source
Q
QQ
Free
Q
Free public DNS resolver that blocks malicious domains and logs no IP addresses
Smart DNS & DNS privacyFree plan
A
AA
Free trial
A
Ad, tracker and phishing blocker for desktop, mobile, browsers and networks
Ad & tracker blockers
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Nov 8, 2026. Editorial policy