# authentik vs MeshCentral

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

| | authentik | MeshCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 3 in IAM | #2 of 23 in Remote Access |
| GitHub stars | 26 155 ✓ | 7 528 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +450 ✓ | +250 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 16 ✓ |
| Latest release | version/2026.8.5 · 21 Oct 2026 | 1.3.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

authentik scores 81/100 against 74/100 for MeshCentral, so it is the safer default.

MeshCentral ships more often: 16 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for authentik.

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

## Details

- [authentik](https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik.md)
- [MeshCentral](https://selfhost.directory/project/meshcentral) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/meshcentral.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/authentik-vs-meshcentral