# certificates vs signserver-ce

> Two self-hosted [PKI projects](https://selfhost.directory/pki), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | certificates | signserver-ce |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 ✓ | 51/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in PKI | #2 of 2 in PKI |
| GitHub stars | 9 019 ✓ | 440 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +119 ✓ | +5 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 ✓ | 2 |
| Latest release | v0.30.2 · 23 Mar 2026 | v7.7.1 · 26 Aug 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Main language | Go | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

certificates scores 72/100 against 51/100 for signserver-ce, so it is the safer default.

certificates ships more often: 3 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for signserver-ce.

If you want the quickest setup, certificates is easier to run; signserver-ce needs more configuration.

certificates is growing faster right now (+119 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [certificates](https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/certificates.md)
- [signserver-ce](https://selfhost.directory/project/signserver-ce) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/signserver-ce.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/certificates-vs-signserver-ce