Backstagevsunleash
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | unleash | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #1 of 8 in Feature Flags |
| GitHub stars | 34 736 | 13 912 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +54 | +90 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 15 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | v8.3.0 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 75/100 for unleash, so it is the safer default.
unleash ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.
If you want the quickest setup, unleash is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
Backstage details →unleash details →