AdGuard DNS
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 7 network ad blockers by recommenders
Recommended for blocking ads on every device with no app to install, just a DNS setting. Critics note you cannot whitelist specific domains.
Recommended for blocking ads on every device with no app to install, just a DNS setting. Critics note you cannot whitelist specific domains.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 26
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 26 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 8.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Blocks ads on every device
“takes care of all ads on every device on my network”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “It's worth trying on devices where you can't install ad blocking software”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Our investigation into the suspicious pressure on Archive.today” “It's too bad not enough people know about using adguard dns on their phones. Dunno about iPhones but it works wonders on Android.”
Comment from 14 Jul 2026 in “Your 'App' Could Have Been a Webpage (so I fixed it for you)” Little or no setup needed
“No configuration just works, no annoyances.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “How I block all online ads” “no infrastructure setup needed”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Google Has Removed MV2 Extensions from the Chrome Web Store, Including UBO” “or even just set dns.adguard-dns.com in your phone DNS settings”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Founder of 7/11 Japan, Toshifumi Suzuki, has died at age 93” Works well and reliably
“Works very well, it's been a good long while since any ad cheapened my web experience.”
Comment from 16 Aug 2026 in “Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker” “AdGuard DNS servers are excellent.”
Comment from 22 Mar 2026 in “Cloudflare flags archive.today as "C&C/Botnet"; no longer resolves via 1.1.1.2” “AdGuard DNS works well for this.”
Comment from 12 Apr 2026 in “Tell HN: docker pull fails in spain due to football cloudflare block” Trusted as a major DNS provider
“it is safer to use a big popular DNS recursor (google, cloudflare, adguard, quad9, etc)”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Our investigation into the suspicious pressure on Archive.today” “mostly associate your brand with the DNS services and lists you provide (thank you!)”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “AdGuard VPN protocol goes open-source – meet TrustTunnel”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cannot whitelist specific domains
“This has the disadvantage that you can’t whitelist specific domains”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos” “then you should be able to whitelist domains”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos”
Other network ad blockers people recommend
The four most recommended other network ad blockers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pi-hole | 136 | 26 | 84% | 12 | 5 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| NextDNS | 81 | 14 | 85% | 12 | 3 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| AdGuard Home | 48 | 3 | 94% | 13 | — | Approved |
| AdGuard DNSThis page | 26 | 3 | 90% | 11 | — | Approved |
| RethinkDNS | 16 | 3 | 84% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
27 of the 32 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it is easier to add adguard dns if you want ease of use”
“no infrastructure setup needed”
“I didn't see any ads on the site.”
“Works very well, it's been a good long while since any ad cheapened my web experience.”
“It's too bad not enough people know about using adguard dns on their phones. Dunno about iPhones but it works wonders on Android.”
“I have been trying to get this unblocked for some time now”
“Oh and I set my DNS server to adguard”
“or even just set dns.adguard-dns.com in your phone DNS settings”
“then you should be able to whitelist domains”
“This has the disadvantage that you can’t whitelist specific domains”
“AdGuard DNS works well for this.”
“AdGuard DNS servers are excellent.”
“Every time some site or person tries to make me feel bad for using AdGuard DNS”
“mostly associate your brand with the DNS services and lists you provide (thank you!)”
“AdGuard DNS profiles are amazing for removing ads from apps”
“AdBlockers are too CPU and memory intensive anyway.”
“somehow was still seeing ads in some games”
“No configuration just works, no annoyances.”
“takes care of all ads on every device on my network”
“AdGuard has a DoH server.”
“it is safer to use a big popular DNS recursor (google, cloudflare, adguard, quad9, etc)”
“As a satisfied customer, I just recommended their adblockimg DNS on here a few days ago”
“It's worth trying on devices where you can't install ad blocking software”
“Removing websites without a good reason would quickly ruin everything for them.”
“filing a counter-claim against potential abuse of power”
“adblock is a genuine quality of life hack for everyone online”
“I combine both to block as much as possible.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.