bookwyrmvsheadscale
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| bookwyrm | headscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 58/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #26 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #1 of 31 in Networking |
| GitHub stars | 2 807 | 45 150 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +21 | +1 043 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 | 7 |
| Latest release | v0.9.3 · 9 Sept 2026 | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Other | BSD-3-Clause |
| Main language | Python | Go |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 58/100 for bookwyrm, so it is the safer default.
bookwyrm ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
If you want the quickest setup, headscale is easier to run; bookwyrm needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 043 stars in 30 days).
bookwyrm details →headscale details →