# certificates vs Nginx Proxy Manager

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

| | certificates | Nginx Proxy Manager |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 82/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in PKI | #2 of 24 in Reverse Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 9 021 | 34 567 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +121 | +353 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.30.2 · 23 Mar 2026 | v2.16.0 · 24 Sept 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Nginx Proxy Manager scores 82/100 against 72/100 for certificates, so it is the safer default.

Nginx Proxy Manager ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for certificates.

If you want the quickest setup, Nginx Proxy Manager is easier to run; certificates needs more configuration.

Nginx Proxy Manager is growing faster right now (+353 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [certificates](https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates.md)
- [Nginx Proxy Manager](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy-manager) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx-proxy-manager.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/certificates-vs-nginx-proxy-manager