# authentik vs nginx-ui

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

| | authentik | nginx-ui |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 ✓ | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 3 in IAM | #3 of 12 in Web Servers |
| GitHub stars | 26 161 ✓ | 11 680 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +456 ✓ | +143 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 37 ✓ |
| Latest release | version/2026.8.5 · 21 Oct 2026 | v2.9.1 · 22 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Python | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

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

nginx-ui ships more often: 37 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for authentik.

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

authentik is growing faster right now (+456 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [authentik](https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/authentik.md)
- [nginx-ui](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-ui) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-ui.md)

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