BackstagevsSimpleX Chat
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | SimpleX Chat | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #4 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 34 734 | 19 612 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +52 | +142 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 12 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | v7.0.4 · 3 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Haskell |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 74/100 for SimpleX Chat, so it is the safer default.
Backstage ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for SimpleX Chat.
If you want the quickest setup, SimpleX Chat is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
SimpleX Chat is growing faster right now (+142 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →SimpleX Chat details →