Datante vs AdGuard: Which Fits Your Home?

Your smart TV, doorbell and other connected devices can contact advertising and tracking services even when you are not browsing the web. A browser ad blocker cannot control every device in your house. Both Datante and some AdGuard products can help reduce those unwanted connections. The important question is which setup fits your home and how much you want to manage yourself.

The short answer: consider Datante if you want guided router setup, maintained filtering levels and straightforward household controls. Consider AdGuard DNS if you want hosted filtering with detailed settings. Consider AdGuard Home if you want to run your own filtering software. AdGuard's browser extensions and device apps do a different job and may complement home-network filtering.

This comparison is written by Datante, not an independent reviewer. We checked AdGuard's official documentation and Datante's current features on November 1, 2026. We did not run a head-to-head blocking or speed test. We are not claiming Datante blocks more, runs faster or makes every device private.

First, which AdGuard do you mean?

AdGuard is a family of products, not just one ad blocker. Comparing Datante only with a browser extension would leave out AdGuard's home-network options. Here are the main choices in everyday language.

• AdGuard browser extensions help block ads and tracking inside supported browsers. Installing one in Chrome does not change your TV's settings.
• AdGuard device apps can offer broader filtering on the phone or computer where they run. Their features depend on the operating system. They are not the same thing as a browser extension.
• AdGuard DNS is a hosted service: AdGuard runs the filtering servers. You can configure supported routers or individual devices to use it.
• AdGuard Home is software you run on your own equipment. It can provide filtering for devices on your home network that use it.

AdGuard explains these different approaches in its official guide to DNS and network filtering. The closest hosted comparison with Datante is AdGuard DNS. The closer comparison for a do-it-yourself filtering server is AdGuard Home.

What does DNS filtering actually do?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. Think of it as the internet's address book. Before a device connects to a service, it often asks DNS for the service's numerical address. A domain is the readable name in that request, such as example.com.

A DNS filter checks those names against its rules. If a name belongs to a known tracker or harmful service, the filter can refuse to provide a useful address. That can stop the connection before the device sends more information to that destination. It does not read every message or inspect everything inside a connection.

A router is the box that connects your home devices to the internet. Setting filtering there can help TVs, speakers and other devices that cannot install a browser extension. The condition matters: a device must actually use those DNS settings. Being connected to your Wi-Fi alone is not proof that its requests pass through the filter.

Datante: guided filtering for your household

Datante focuses on a guided home-router setup and simple everyday choices. Instead of running a filtering server yourself, you follow the router instructions and choose Essential, Standard or Maximum. These are different filtering choices, not three promises that every threat will be stopped.

• Guided setup helps you find and change the relevant router settings.
• Maintained filtering levels reduce the need to assemble your own collection of blocking lists.
• The dashboard shows household activity so you can review blocked and allowed requests.
• Custom Allow and Block rules let you make exceptions for particular domain names.
• Remote controls let you pause for 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes, or until you turn filtering back on.

The benefit is less responsibility for running filtering infrastructure at home. You do not need to install and maintain a separate DNS server. You still need a compatible router, working internet access and a willingness to check settings when something changes. Keep a copy of your old router settings before changing them.

Datante's traffic groups can suggest a device family, but they are not a complete list of uniquely identified physical devices. For example, traffic associated with a TV brand does not prove which of two TVs made a request. Choose Datante for the guided, managed experience, not a promise of perfect device identification.

AdGuard DNS: hosted filtering with more settings to explore

AdGuard DNS also runs on the provider's servers. You do not have to keep a filtering computer switched on at home. It can work through a supported router, so it would be wrong to say AdGuard cannot help smart TVs or other home devices.

There are public and private versions. Public AdGuard DNS offers preset filtering choices. Private AdGuard DNS adds an account dashboard with customizable blocklists, personal rules, request logs, statistics and parental controls. A blocklist is simply a collection of names that a filter is told to refuse.

AdGuard documents those capabilities in its private AdGuard DNS overview. Its controls may suit you if you enjoy fine-tuning which lists and rules your household uses. Hosted filtering already removes server upkeep; Datante is not the only option that avoids local hardware maintenance.

The choice is about the experience you prefer. Datante emphasizes guided home setup and three maintained levels. AdGuard DNS offers a broad set of documented customization options. Neither description proves which service will block more of the unwanted requests in your particular home.

AdGuard Home: more local control, more responsibility

AdGuard Home is different from hosted AdGuard DNS. You install it on equipment you manage, such as a suitable always-on computer. Your household's DNS requests go to that installation when your network is configured to use it. AdGuard's AdGuard Home overview describes it as network-wide software that runs on users' own machines.

This can be a good fit if you enjoy managing your own setup. You control the local installation and its settings. In return, you are responsible for keeping the equipment available, updating the software and recovering when it stops working. You may be able to reuse existing equipment rather than buy a dedicated box.

Local does not automatically mean that no information leaves your home. AdGuard Home normally sends allowed lookups to an upstream DNS service—the next service that finds the answer. Review that service's privacy rules as well as your local settings. Datante and hosted AdGuard DNS involve trusting a provider with the requests they receive.

The quick comparison

• For a browser: an AdGuard browser extension can block content inside that browser. Datante's router-based DNS filtering cannot tidy up web pages in the same way.
• For supported home devices: Datante, AdGuard DNS and AdGuard Home can filter requests from devices using their configured DNS service.
• For server upkeep: Datante and hosted AdGuard DNS do not require you to maintain a local filtering server. AdGuard Home does.
• For everyday decisions: Datante offers maintained levels and household controls. Private AdGuard DNS offers detailed filtering settings. AdGuard Home gives you control of your own installation.
• For cost: compare the exact product and plan. Browser extensions, device-app licenses, hosted DNS subscriptions and self-hosted software are different purchases. Check current prices and plan limits rather than comparing unrelated offers.

If the managed household approach sounds right, see Datante's current plans and free-trial details. Compare the controls you will actually use, not just the longest feature list.

What DNS filtering cannot promise

Neither Datante nor AdGuard's DNS tools can block every ad or stop every kind of data collection. If a tracker shares a domain with something you need, blocking that name can break the useful part too. DNS filtering also cannot remove every empty advertising box from a page or reliably separate every video ad from the video you requested.

Devices can take other routes. A phone using mobile data, a device with its own DNS settings or a VPN using a different DNS service may not use your home filter. VPN means virtual private network: a tool that sends covered traffic through an encrypted connection to another service. It is not automatically incompatible with DNS filtering, but the settings matter.

Filtering can also block something you want. Keep a way to pause it, make a narrow exception and restore working settings. If a shopping or streaming service fails, allow only the domain you need rather than turning off every protection permanently. Keep devices updated too; DNS filtering does not repair security flaws in their software.

Common questions

Should I switch if AdGuard already works for me?

Not necessarily. If your setup covers the devices you care about and you are comfortable managing it, switching may offer little benefit. Consider Datante when guided router setup, maintained choices and simple household controls solve a problem you actually have.

Can I keep an AdGuard browser extension with Datante?

Yes, a browser extension and home DNS filtering can serve different purposes. The extension works on browser content; Datante filters the DNS requests that reach it. If you also use an AdGuard device app or another DNS service, check its settings because it may send requests somewhere other than your router's chosen filter.

Does managed mean no maintenance at all?

No. With Datante or hosted AdGuard DNS, the provider runs the DNS service. You still manage your home network. A new router, a changed internet connection, a wrongly blocked service or an outage can require troubleshooting. “No local server to maintain” is a more useful promise than “nothing will ever need attention.”

Choose the setup you want to live with

Choose AdGuard's browser or device tools for filtering on those supported browsers and devices. Consider AdGuard DNS for configurable hosted filtering, or AdGuard Home for a local installation you control. Choose Datante when you want a guided route to home-network filtering and fewer everyday filtering decisions.

Want to try that approach? Check Datante's plans and start your free trial. Still comparing? Read Datante vs Pi-hole vs NextDNS and why browser privacy tools do not cover your whole home.