# Asterisk vs FreeSWITCH

> Two self-hosted [VoIP projects](https://selfhost.directory/voip), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Asterisk | FreeSWITCH |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 ✓ | 69/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 16 in VoIP | #3 of 16 in VoIP |
| GitHub stars | 3 648 | 5 261 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +83 ✓ | +82 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 19 ✓ | 4 |
| Latest release | certified-22.8-cert5 · 19 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.11.3 · 28 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | C | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Asterisk scores 71/100 against 69/100 for FreeSWITCH, so it is the safer default.

Asterisk ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 4 for FreeSWITCH.

## Details

- [Asterisk](https://selfhost.directory/project/asterisk) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/asterisk.md)
- [FreeSWITCH](https://selfhost.directory/project/freeswitch) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/freeswitch.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/asterisk-vs-freeswitch