Backstagevswindmill
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #6 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 34 734 | 18 308 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +52 | +288 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 163 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | v1.853.0 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Typescript | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 77/100 for windmill, so it is the safer default.
windmill ships more often: 163 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.
If you want the quickest setup, windmill is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
windmill is growing faster right now (+288 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →windmill details →