# checkmate vs trigger

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

| | checkmate | trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 76/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #15 of 104 in Monitoring & observability | #7 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 11 006 | 16 648 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +119 | +249 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 15 | 49 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.13.1 · 22 Oct 2026 | v4.8.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

trigger scores 76/100 against 72/100 for checkmate, so it is the safer default.

trigger ships more often: 49 stable releases in the past year, against 15 for checkmate.

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

trigger is growing faster right now (+249 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [checkmate](https://selfhost.directory/project/checkmate) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/checkmate.md)
- [trigger](https://selfhost.directory/project/trigger) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/trigger.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/checkmate-vs-trigger