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Comparison · Infra & APIs

AdGuard Home vs Pacemaker

A side-by-side editorial comparison of AdGuard Home and Pacemaker — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

AdGuard Home vs Pacemaker: at a glance

FeatureAdGuard HomePacemaker
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.06.3
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesdns, ad-blocking, self-hosted, securityhigh availability, cluster security, tls authentication, dual branch releases
Last editorial update11h ago3mo ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is AdGuard Home?

AdGuard Home's 1.0 beta matches stable's security fixes and reworks client settings

AdGuard Home v0.107.80 is a security release on the stable line: a Go update for the 1.27.3 fixes, Multipath TCP disabled for CVE-2026-98432 and macOS 13 dropped. The beta channel moved to the new UI and v1.0.0 numbering at the end of September; v1.0.0-b.2 on November 5 carries the same security changes, splits per-client global settings so blocked services have their own switch, and fixes a run of DHCP and client ID validation bugs.

Read the full AdGuard Home trajectory →

What is Pacemaker?

Pacemaker is putting TLS and X509 auth between its cluster nodes, then hardening the wire code.

Two branches ship in parallel: the 3.0.x line carrying new work and 2.1.x taking backported fixes. The 3.0 series added TLS for Pacemaker Remote nodes, X509 authentication, TLS certificates for remote CIB operations, and then PSK authentication for those same operations, alongside large-IPC and multipart message support. The most recent releases on both branches are the same security train, fixing CVE-2026-10649 and a set of integer overflows and size checks in the remote message code.

Read the full Pacemaker trajectory →

AdGuard Home vs Pacemaker: editorial side-by-side

A
AdGuard Home
INFRA · APIS
5.0

AdGuard Home's 1.0 beta matches stable's security fixes and reworks client settings

◆ Current state

AdGuard Home v0.107.80 is a security release on the stable line: a Go update for the 1.27.3 fixes, Multipath TCP disabled for CVE-2026-98432 and macOS 13 dropped. The beta channel moved to the new UI and v1.0.0 numbering at the end of September; v1.0.0-b.2 on November 5 carries the same security changes, splits per-client global settings so blocked services have their own switch, and fixes a run of DHCP and client ID validation bugs.

◆ Where it's heading

The two lines are now patched in step on security, while the 1.0 beta absorbs UI corrections and validation fixes ahead of a stable switch. The beta fixes are mostly about settings that did not save or validate correctly, which is the cleanup a new UI needs before it replaces the old one.

◆ Prediction

Expect more 1.0 betas fixing settings and validation in the new UI; the entries give no date for 1.0 stable.

P
Pacemaker
INFRA · APIS
6.3

Pacemaker is putting TLS and X509 auth between its cluster nodes, then hardening the wire code.

◆ Current state

Two branches ship in parallel: the 3.0.x line carrying new work and 2.1.x taking backported fixes. The 3.0 series added TLS for Pacemaker Remote nodes, X509 authentication, TLS certificates for remote CIB operations, and then PSK authentication for those same operations, alongside large-IPC and multipart message support. The most recent releases on both branches are the same security train, fixing CVE-2026-10649 and a set of integer overflows and size checks in the remote message code.

◆ Where it's heading

The cluster's internal transport is being rebuilt on the assumption that the network between nodes is not trusted. Authentication and encryption arrived first, and the fixes that followed, overflow guards and a maximum remote message size, are the hardening pass on the same code paths. Release discipline is heavy and visible: each version ships a release candidate with an identical commit set days earlier, and every 3.0 release documents the regressions it introduced and where they were fixed.

◆ Prediction

Remote CIB operations now support both X509 certificates and PSK, and the recent fixes all sit in message framing and size limits; further work is most likely to continue in that message-handling code rather than adding another authentication mechanism.

Alternatives to AdGuard Home and Pacemaker

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either AdGuard Home or Pacemaker.

See all AdGuard Home alternatives → · See all Pacemaker alternatives →

Recent activity from AdGuard Home and Pacemaker

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoAdGuard Home1.0.0-b.2: security fixes, per-client settings split, DHCP fixes
  2. 3d agoAdGuard Home0.107.80 disables Multipath TCP for a CVE and drops macOS 13
  3. 1mo agoAdGuard HomeBeta channel moves to the new UI as v1.0.0-b.1
  4. 1mo agoAdGuard HomeBeta b.91 fixes DHCP lease persistence and DNS64 chains
  5. 2mo agoAdGuard HomeAdGuard Home 0.107.79 hardens DNS-over-QUIC against exhaustion
  6. 3mo agoAdGuard HomeBeta b.90 carries the DNS-over-QUIC exhaustion fix
  7. 3mo agoPacemaker3.0.3: CVE-2026-10649 and remote message overflow fixes
  8. 3mo agoPacemaker3.0.2: PSK auth for remote CIB operations
  9. 3mo agoPacemaker3.0.1: TLS and X509 authentication for Pacemaker Remote ⚡
  10. 3mo agoPacemaker3.0.3-rc1: release candidate for the CVE fix set
  11. 4mo agoPacemaker2.1.11: CVE-2026-10649 backported to the maintenance branch
  12. 4mo agoPacemaker2.1.11-rc1: release candidate for the 2.1 CVE backport

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between AdGuard Home and Pacemaker?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Pacemaker is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is AdGuard Home better than Pacemaker?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Pacemaker is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to AdGuard Home?

Top AdGuard Home alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "AdGuard Home alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/adguard-home for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Pacemaker?

Top Pacemaker alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Pacemaker alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pacemaker for the full list with editorial commentary on each.