Arcanevsnetbird
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Arcane | netbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 44 in Container Management | #2 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 8 102 | 30 309 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +509 | +806 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 31 | 40 |
| Latest release | v2.17.1 · 25 Oct 2026 | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Other |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
netbird scores 81/100 against 76/100 for Arcane, so it is the safer default.
netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 31 for Arcane.
If you want the quickest setup, Arcane is easier to run; netbird needs more configuration.
Arcane details →netbird details →
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