# Blackbox exporter vs Steward

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

| | Blackbox exporter | Steward |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 ✓ | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 51 in Monitoring & observability | #2 of 2 in Cloud |
| GitHub stars | 5 922 ✓ | 201 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +16 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 6 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.1 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | v0.4.0 · 4 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Blackbox exporter scores 70/100 against 46/100 for Steward, so it is the safer default.

Steward ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Blackbox exporter.

If you want the quickest setup, Blackbox exporter is easier to run; Steward needs more configuration.

Blackbox exporter is growing faster right now (+16 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Blackbox exporter](https://selfhost.directory/project/blackbox-exporter) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/blackbox-exporter.md)
- [Steward](https://selfhost.directory/project/steward) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/steward.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/blackbox-exporter-vs-steward