# altcha vs Shields

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | altcha | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 63/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 4 in Anti-Spam | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 2 859 | 27 333 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +83 | +127 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v3.5.0 · 22 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 63/100 for altcha, so it is the safer default.

altcha ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; altcha needs more configuration.

## Details

- [altcha](https://selfhost.directory/project/altcha) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/altcha.md)
- [Shields](https://selfhost.directory/project/shields) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shields.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/altcha-vs-shields