Running a Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi is one of the easiest ways to clean up your internet experience. Once it is in place, you will see fewer ads, less tracking, and faster page loads. But like any good tool, Pi-hole has plenty of room for optimization. I have tested various tweaks on my own setup to determine what truly makes a difference. Some were game-changers, others were a waste of time. Here are the ones that actually made a noticeable difference.

5 Using well-curated blocklists pays off

Not all blocklists are created equal, so choose wisely

When I first installed Pi-hole, I added a handful of blocklists I found through various online forums. It helped, but the experience was inconsistent. Certain sites would load incorrectly or fail to load altogether. At the same time, I noticed that some ads were still getting through. It quickly became clear that not all blocklists are created equal.

I decided to take a more deliberate approach. I researched popular lists and focused on those maintained by trusted community members. Lists like StevenBlack’s Unified Hosts and OISD Full consistently came up as highly effective without introducing too many false positives. After switching to these, my browsing improved noticeably. Fewer ads slipped through, and websites were much less likely to break.

I also learned that using too many blocklists can cause problems. DNS resolution can slow down, and you are more likely to run into false positives that block legitimate content. I review my blocklists quarterly to remove redundant or poorly maintained lists. Keeping a focused and well-curated set of blocklists ultimately provides the best balance of ad blocking and site reliability.

4 Enabling DNSSEC improved privacy and trust

Adding DNSSEC gave me peace of mind about DNS responses

DNS is a critical component of how the internet works, but it is also a potential security vulnerability. Without protection, DNS responses can be intercepted or altered by attackers. That is where DNSSEC, or DNS Security Extensions, comes in. It ensures that the DNS responses you receive are authentic and have not been tampered with.

Setting this up in Pi-hole was relatively simple. The key was choosing an upstream DNS provider that supports DNSSEC. I opted for Cloudflare, which offers both speed and strong security. Once I enabled DNSSEC validation in Pi-hole’s settings, the system began verifying DNS signatures automatically. There was no dramatic change in how my browsing looked, but I knew my DNS queries were now safer.

The peace of mind this provided was worth the effort. While DNSSEC does not block ads or visibly speed things up, it hardens one of the most vulnerable points in your network. Given how easy it is to enable, I highly recommend it. Security improvements like this often go unnoticed until they are needed, and I would rather have them in place ahead of time.

3 Blocking known malware and phishing domains

Proactively keeping malicious domains off the table made browsing safer

Ad blocking was my main goal when setting up Pi-hole, but I quickly realized I could also improve security. Blocking known malware and phishing domains is one of the simplest and most effective ways to do that. It adds an extra layer of protection that applies to every device on your network.

I started by adding blocklists focused on security. MalwareDomains and PhishTank were two of the most recommended sources. Once integrated, Pi-hole automatically began filtering out requests to domains known for malicious activity. This change was invisible most of the time, but it paid off when I tested it by clicking a suspicious link in a spam email. Pi-hole blocked the connection instantly.

What I appreciated most was that this protection applied network-wide. Phones, tablets, smart TVs, and even IoT devices benefited from the same filtering. Many of these devices lack strong local protection, so Pi-hole’s security filtering fills a critical gap. If you already run Pi-hole for ad blocking, adding malware and phishing lists is a logical next step that significantly enhances your home network’s safety.

2 Setting up Pi-hole as the network’s only DNS resolver

Forcing all devices through Pi-hole ensures comprehensive filtering

At first, I pointed only a few devices at Pi-hole for DNS resolution. This included my laptop and main desktop computer. It worked well for those devices, but it left a big hole in my network. Many other devices, from smart speakers to gaming consoles, were still using their default DNS settings. This meant they bypassed Pi-hole’s protections entirely.

To address this, I configured my router to hand out the Pi-hole’s IP address as the sole DNS server via DHCP. I also blocked outbound DNS traffic that did not go through Pi-hole. These two changes ensured that every device on my network used Pi-hole for DNS, regardless of whether I had configured them manually or not. It took a bit of trial and error, but the payoff was immediate.

Suddenly, my network-wide statistics became much more accurate. I could see which devices were querying which domains. More importantly, all devices now benefit from the same level of ad blocking and security filtering. To get the full value from Pi-hole, enforcing this setup is essential. It is one of the most impactful tweaks I made.

1 Adding a local DNS entry for my home services

Speeding up and simplifying access to my local resources

Like many home tech enthusiasts, I run several self-hosted services. These include Home Assistant, a media server, and several web-based tools. Accessing them used to mean typing long IP addresses or relying on external DNS services. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal, especially as my network expanded.

I discovered that Pi-hole allows you to create local DNS entries for custom domains. I took the time to define easy-to-remember names, such as media.local and homeassistant.local. Now, accessing my services is much more straightforward and intuitive. I just type the name into my browser, and it resolves instantly.

This also centralized my local DNS management. If I move a service to a new IP address, I only need to update Pi-hole’s local DNS configuration. Everything else updates automatically. This minor tweak significantly improved the convenience and speed of working with my home services. It is a simple change I wish I had made sooner.

The tweaks that mattered most to my Pi-hole setup

Not every Pi-hole tweak is worth your time, but a few can make a real difference. Curating quality blocklists, enabling DNSSEC, blocking malicious domains, enforcing network-wide DNS, and setting up local DNS entries had the most significant impact for me. They improved privacy, security, and convenience without making the system more fragile or complex. If you are looking to get more out of your Pi-hole, these are the tweaks I would start with.