BackstagevsNovu
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | Novu | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #2 of 19 in Notifications |
| GitHub stars | 34 734 | 40 219 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +52 | +170 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 12 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | @novu/framework@v2.14.0 · 28 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 76/100 for Novu, so it is the safer default.
Backstage ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for Novu.
Novu is growing faster right now (+170 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →Novu details →