WOMBATS Shield vs Pi-hole — what you’re actually buying.
Let’s start with the honest bit: a technical reader can build the DNS-filtering layer of a product like Shield for about $100 with Pi-hole. Respect. Pi-hole is a brilliant, free, open-source project, run by volunteers, and if you enjoy networking as a craft it might be all you need. This page won’t pretend otherwise.
The fork in the road is on Pi-hole’s own homepage. Step one: “install a supported operating system.” If those words sound like the start of a fun weekend, Pi-hole is genuinely worth your time. If they sound like a job you’d rather not own for the next five years — that’s the household Shield was built for.
A project versus an appliance.
Pi-hole gives you network-wide DNS blocking — ads, trackers and unwanted domains stopped for every device, with a genuinely good statistics dashboard. What it deliberately leaves to you: the hardware, the operating system, the router reconfiguration, the updates, the blocklist curation, and everything a family asks for beyond DNS — enforced SafeSearch, controls a non-technical parent can drive, storage, media, travel.
Shield is the whole stack in one supported box: the filtering plus the family layer on top, plus the half no filter attempts — family storage for photos and computer backups (encrypted, with Time Machine, on Vault), a private media library, a travel Wi-Fi router. Set up in about 15 minutes, then it stays quiet, with a human to email when you want one.
Side by side.
| WOMBATS Shield | Pi-hole | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A supported hardware appliance for the whole family job | Free, open-source DNS-filtering software you host yourself |
| What it costs | One purchase, no subscriptions | Free software — plus your own hardware, and your own time (setup and upkeep) |
| Setup | ~15 minutes; Modem Autopilot recognises the modems in most Australian homes and configures itself | Their own steps: install a supported OS (or Docker), run the installer, reconfigure your router’s DHCP or each device’s DNS |
| Who answers your lookups | The Shield itself, out of the box: at home it resolves lookups from the internet’s root servers, so no DNS company sees the household’s browsing. Away from home it switches to an encrypted lookup to a provider you choose | Forwards to an upstream DNS provider you choose. Their own guide to going recursive is a separate Unbound install you set up and maintain |
| Who maintains it | We do — updates, filter sources, support | You do — OS updates, upgrades, blocklists, troubleshooting (with a helpful community) |
| SafeSearch enforcement | On, enforced across major search engines | Not built in; possible by hand for those who know how |
| Parental controls | Parent-first, per device or whole-house: filtering, pause, schedules, SafeSearch and app blocking (social media included) from your phone | Group-based controls exist, oriented to technical users |
| Encrypted-DNS bypass resistance | Common bypass routes blocked at the network, attempts visible | Requires additional firewall configuration you set up yourself |
| Private storage, backups, media, travel Wi-Fi | Family storage and Jellyfin/DLNA media (Edge/Vault); encrypted SSD and Time Machine (Vault); travel Wi-Fi — Edge with a cable, Vault cable-free, even networks with a login page | Not what it’s for |
| Filtering that follows the kids' phones | Follow-Me Filtering (Vault): each phone connects back to your Shield through a free app — same rules on mobile data, at school, anywhere. The phone's owner can switch it off; your Shield shows when it last connected | The DIY route: their docs include a WireGuard VPN guide you install, configure and maintain yourself |
| Support and warranty | Human support, 12-month warranty plus Australian Consumer Law guarantees, 30-day home trial | Community forums; no warranty — it’s free software |
| If the maker disappears | Keeps working: no activation server, no cloud login, public filter lists keep updating | Open source — the community carries on |
Choose Pi-hole if…
…you like this sort of thing. You’ll learn a lot, you’ll pay nothing for the software, and the community is excellent. Donate to the project if it serves you well — volunteers build it in their spare time, and that deserves support.
Choose WOMBATS Shield if…
…you want the outcome without the project. Filtering that covers the whole house, the family controls a parent actually uses, the photos and backups on your own shelf — installed in 15 minutes, maintained by us, warranted, and returnable within 30 days if it isn’t right for your home.
Founding Edition
The first 20 numbered Shields are on sale now — from $449, founding price locked in for life (standard from unit 61: $599). 30-day home trial, free AU/NZ dispatch.
Common questions.
Is WOMBATS Shield just a paid Pi-hole?
No. DNS blocking is one layer of what Shield does. On top of it: parental controls a parent can run from their phone — filtering, pause, schedules, SafeSearch and app blocking (social media included), each per device or for the whole house — plus blocking of common encrypted-DNS bypass routes, lookups answered recursively out of the box (the Pi-hole + Unbound setup, pre-built, with encrypted lookups away from home), family storage and a private media library (encrypted SSD with Time Machine on Vault), a travel Wi-Fi mode, Follow-Me Filtering that takes your rules onto the kids' phones (Vault), and a company that answers support email, with a 12-month warranty and a 30-day home trial. You’re not buying DNS blocking. You’re buying the absence of homework.
Should I just run Pi-hole instead?
If reading Pi-hole’s install steps — choose an operating system, run the installer, reconfigure your router’s DHCP — sounds like a fun weekend, then genuinely, yes, you might. It’s an excellent project. Shield exists for the households where nobody wants that job, or where the person who’d do it doesn’t want to be on call for it.
I already run Pi-hole happily. Why would I switch?
Maybe you wouldn’t — happy Pi-hole users are well served. People who do switch usually name two reasons: the family features (enforced SafeSearch, per-device pause and schedules that a non-technical partner can drive), and the storage half — family storage and a media library in the same box, with encrypted backups and Time Machine on Vault.
What happens if the company or project behind each one goes away?
Honest answer: both survive well. Pi-hole is open source, and its community would carry it on. Shield keeps working too — no activation server, no cloud login, and the public filter lists it uses keep updating without us. On this particular point the two products share a philosophy.
This comparison is based on publicly available information from the manufacturers’ own websites, reviewed 24 August 2026. Pi-hole is a trademark of its owner; WOMBATS Shield has no affiliation with, and no endorsement from, the companies or projects mentioned. Spot something outdated or unfair? Email hello@wombatss.com and we’ll fix it.