# authentik vs Nginx Proxy Manager

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

| | authentik | Nginx Proxy Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 3 in IAM | #2 of 24 in Reverse Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 26 162 | 34 571 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +450 ✓ | +344 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | version/2026.8.5 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | v2.16.0 · 24 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Nginx Proxy Manager scores 82/100 against 81/100 for authentik, so it is the safer default.

Nginx Proxy Manager ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for authentik.

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

## Details

- [authentik](https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik.md)
- [Nginx Proxy Manager](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy-manager) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy-manager.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/authentik-vs-nginx-proxy-manager