Portmaster is the easier fit if you want to see and control network connections on the computer where it is installed. It is not a supported, drop-in replacement for Pi-hole’s network-wide DNS filtering. The difference is scope: Portmaster offers per-device and per-application controls, while Pi-hole can filter DNS requests from multiple devices that use it as their DNS server.
What is the alternative?
The alternative named in the September 23, 2026, How-To Geek article is Portmaster, an application from Safing. The article’s author describes its interface as a straightforward way to inspect connections and block them, calling it easier for their needs. That is a personal experience report, not a controlled usability comparison or a claim that Portmaster is simpler for everyone. The author also describes Portmaster as “an on-device application firewall.”
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Safing documents Portmaster as software installed on a computer. It can show network connections and apply rules to applications, DNS queries, and network connections. That makes it useful when your goal is to understand or restrict what a particular computer or app connects to.
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| Question | Portmaster | Pi-hole |
|---|---|---|
| Where does it work? | On a supported computer where you install it. Safing’s Windows installation guide and Linux installation guide cover those platforms. | Can provide DNS-level filtering for multiple clients that use it as their DNS server, including computers and smart devices, as described in the How-To Geek comparison. |
| What can you see or control? | Connections and rules on the computer running Portmaster, including per-application access and DNS or network-connection filters. See Safing’s feature overview and Privacy Filter documentation. | DNS requests from clients using Pi-hole as their DNS server; the cited comparison describes it as a way to apply filtering across multiple devices. |
| What about devices that cannot run the software? | They do not receive Portmaster’s on-device controls simply because another computer has it installed. | They may benefit if they can use the Pi-hole system for DNS. The cited comparison does not establish compatibility for every device or network configuration. |
The tools therefore address overlapping but distinct needs. Portmaster can help you manage one computer more granularly; Pi-hole’s network role is useful when you want DNS-level filtering for a collection of clients. A device-level application firewall and a network DNS filter are not interchangeable controls.
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When Portmaster can take Pi-hole’s place
Portmaster can be a reasonable substitute for your personal setup if you mainly used Pi-hole to block unwanted connections from one computer and now prefer controls attached to that computer or its applications. You can create rules that block an application’s internet access and allow exceptions, as described in Safing’s rules guide.
- Choose Portmaster for this purpose when per-computer visibility and app-specific rules matter more than filtering every client on the network.
- Keep a network-level approach if the objective is to filter DNS requests from devices that cannot run Portmaster, or to manage several clients centrally.
- Use both only if their separate roles are useful. Their scopes can complement each other, but Portmaster does not automatically extend its rules to the rest of the network.
Why Portmaster is not a supported network-wide replacement
Safing documents a way to use Portmaster as a network-wide privacy system similar to Pi-hole, but says in its Settings Handbook: “This possibility exists mainly for testing and is not officially supported.” That caveat is decisive if you need a dependable, supported network-wide setup: do not treat Portmaster’s experimental network-wide use as equivalent to Pi-hole’s established role in the comparison.
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Install Portmaster on a supported computer
Windows
Safing’s Windows installation guide documents either its installer or this command in Windows Package Manager:
winget install -i portmasterThe guide specifies support for 64-bit CPU architecture. It also describes an older installer behavior before version 0.6.7 involving disabling the Windows DNS Cache Service; Safing marks that behavior deprecated, so it should not be treated as the current default installation behavior.
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Linux
Use Safing’s Linux installation guide for the supported installation route. Its integration uses iptables, which can conflict with other software that relies on the same packet-marking mechanisms. If you run firewall, VPN, or networking tools that modify packet marks, check for conflicts before relying on the combination.
DNS settings and local-network trade-offs
Portmaster includes DNS configuration options, including encrypted DNS examples, and Safing documents DNS settings such as DNS-over-TLS. Safing warns that ignoring DNS servers provided by the system or network can break local-network domains. If names for local devices or services stop resolving after a DNS change, review that setting before assuming the service itself is down.
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Safing also documents AdGuard DNS options and says Portmaster uses AdGuard’s public ads blocklist by default in its filter lists. These features can support DNS filtering on the computer running Portmaster; they do not make Portmaster a supported network-wide Pi-hole replacement.
What happens when you stop or uninstall it?
Safing’s FAQ says Portmaster does not make permanent changes to network configuration and removes its volatile network integration when stopped or uninstalled. If you are troubleshooting networking after removing it, that is the documented behavior; on Linux, also consider whether another tool is competing for the same iptables packet-marking mechanisms.
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Choose by the coverage you need
Think first about what you want to protect. For one computer, Portmaster offers local connection visibility and per-application rules, and its author-reported ease may suit that workflow. For DNS filtering across multiple network clients, Pi-hole better matches the network-wide goal described in the comparison. Portmaster’s experimental network-wide mode is not officially supported, so it should not be the basis for assuming the same coverage.
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