# coredns vs NATS

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

| | coredns | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #5 of 41 in DNS | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 14 398 | 20 956 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +55 | +191 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 · 21 Oct 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

NATS scores 80/100 against 76/100 for coredns, so it is the safer default.

NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for coredns.

NATS is growing faster right now (+191 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [coredns](https://selfhost.directory/project/coredns) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/coredns.md)
- [NATS](https://selfhost.directory/project/nats) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nats.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/coredns-vs-nats