# Backstage vs Portainer

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

| | Backstage | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 34 732 | 38 737 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +50 | +188 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Zlib |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Backstage scores 78/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.

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

Portainer is growing faster right now (+188 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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