# certificates vs CertMate

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

| | certificates | CertMate |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 62/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in PKI | #2 of 8 in Certificate Management |
| GitHub stars | 9 021 ✓ | 1 480 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +121 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 9 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.30.2 · 23 Mar 2026 | v2.55.0 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

certificates scores 72/100 against 62/100 for CertMate, so it is the safer default.

CertMate ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for certificates.

certificates is growing faster right now (+121 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [certificates](https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates.md)
- [CertMate](https://selfhost.directory/project/certmate) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certmate.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/certificates-vs-certmate