# btw vs WriteFreely

> Two self-hosted [Medium alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/medium), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | btw | WriteFreely |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 45/100 | 65/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #5 of 6 in Website Builder | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 1 254 | 5 276 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 3 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

WriteFreely scores 65/100 against 45/100 for btw, so it is the safer default.

WriteFreely ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for btw.

If you want the quickest setup, WriteFreely is easier to run; btw needs more configuration.

WriteFreely is growing faster right now (+19 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [btw](https://selfhost.directory/project/btw) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/btw.md)
- [WriteFreely](https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/btw-vs-writefreely