Pi-hole is a network-wide ad blocker that runs on a Raspberry Pi and acts as a DNS sinkhole — any DNS query for known advertising or tracking domains is blocked at the network level, before the content ever reaches any device. The result is ad blocking that works across every device on the network simultaneously: phones, tablets, smart TVs, game consoles, and anything else connected, without needing to install a browser extension on each one. It’s one of the most practically useful Raspberry Pi projects available.
Setting It Up
Installation is straightforward: flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite to an SD card, set a static IP, and run the Pi-hole install script via SSH. The script walks through configuration including upstream DNS provider choice and sets up the web dashboard automatically. The final step is pointing your router’s DHCP server to use the Pi’s IP as the DNS server for all clients — from that point, all DNS queries go through Pi-hole. The web dashboard shows query statistics in real time, which is both useful for monitoring and somewhat alarming in terms of how much tracking traffic is happening on an average network.
Verdict
Pi-hole is consistently one of the most recommended Raspberry Pi projects for good reason — it works, it’s easy to set up, and the improvement in browsing experience across all devices is immediate and noticeable. The network-level blocking catches ads that browser extensions miss, including in-app advertising on phones and smart TV tracking. Essential for any home network, and a great showcase for what a £15 Raspberry Pi Zero can do when running continuously.
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