Backstagevsscalar
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | scalar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #3 of 13 in API |
| GitHub stars | 34 734 | 16 335 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +52 | +156 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 46 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | release-2026-10-28-0d01943 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 76/100 for scalar, so it is the safer default.
scalar ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.
If you want the quickest setup, scalar is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
scalar is growing faster right now (+156 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →scalar details →