# Backstage vs NATS

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

| | Backstage | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 34 732 ✓ | 20 954 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +50 | +192 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

NATS scores 80/100 against 78/100 for Backstage, so it is the safer default.

NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.

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

NATS is growing faster right now (+192 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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