BackstagevsSemaphore UI
Two self-hosted Developer Tools projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | Semaphore UI | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 73/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #12 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 34 736 | 14 336 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +54 | +153 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 20 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | v2.18.31 · 7 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 73/100 for Semaphore UI, so it is the safer default.
Semaphore UI ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.
If you want the quickest setup, Semaphore UI is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
Semaphore UI is growing faster right now (+153 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →Semaphore UI details →All Developer Tools projects →