# coredns vs DarkMoon

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

| | coredns | DarkMoon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 ✓ | 57/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 41 in DNS | #28 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 14 399 ✓ | 1 159 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +56 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 ✓ | 9 |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 · 21 Oct 2026 | v1.6.0 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

coredns scores 76/100 against 57/100 for DarkMoon, so it is the safer default.

coredns ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for DarkMoon.

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

coredns is growing faster right now (+56 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [coredns](https://selfhost.directory/project/coredns) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/coredns.md)
- [DarkMoon](https://selfhost.directory/project/dark-moon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/dark-moon.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/coredns-vs-dark-moon