# Backstage vs SimpleX 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).

## Details

- [Backstage](https://selfhost.directory/project/backstage) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/backstage.md)
- [SimpleX Chat](https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/simplex-chat.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/backstage-vs-simplex-chat