BackstagevsUnderstudy
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | Understudy | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 48/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #110 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 34 739 | 465 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +57 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 79/100 against 48/100 for Understudy, so it is the safer default.
Backstage ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Understudy.
If you want the quickest setup, Understudy is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
Backstage is growing faster right now (+57 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →Understudy details →