# Backstage vs Mastodon

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

| | Backstage | Mastodon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #2 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums |
| GitHub stars | 34 732 | 50 456 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +50 | +137 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 38 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v4.4.26 · 1 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Ruby |

## Which one should you pick?

Mastodon scores 82/100 against 78/100 for Backstage, so it is the safer default.

Mastodon ships more often: 38 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.

Mastodon is growing faster right now (+137 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Backstage](https://selfhost.directory/project/backstage) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/backstage.md)
- [Mastodon](https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mastodon.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/backstage-vs-mastodon