# beam vs Syslog-ng

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | beam | Syslog-ng |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 61/100 | 66/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #29 of 125 in AI | #3 of 8 in Logging |
| GitHub stars | 1 834 | 2 386 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +47 ✓ | +10 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 364 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | gateway-0.1.837 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ | syslog-ng-4.12.0 · 16 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Syslog-ng scores 66/100 against 61/100 for beam, so it is the safer default.

beam ships more often: 364 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for Syslog-ng.

If you want the quickest setup, Syslog-ng is easier to run; beam needs more configuration.

beam is growing faster right now (+47 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [beam](https://selfhost.directory/project/beam) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/beam.md)
- [Syslog-ng](https://selfhost.directory/project/syslog-ng) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/syslog-ng.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/beam-vs-syslog-ng