# Backstage vs penpot

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

| | Backstage | penpot |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 84/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #1 of 30 in Collaboration |
| GitHub stars | 34 739 | 61 824 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +57 | +1 482 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 ✓ | 12 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.18.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Advanced ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Clojure |

## Which one should you pick?

penpot scores 84/100 against 79/100 for Backstage, so it is the safer default.

Backstage ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for penpot.

penpot is growing faster right now (+1 482 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [OpenDesign vs penpot](https://selfhost.directory/compare/open-design-vs-penpot)

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