corednsvsopenpencil
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| coredns | openpencil | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 73/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 41 in DNS | #2 of 7 in Design |
| GitHub stars | 14 398 | 9 415 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +55 | +814 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 14 |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 · 21 Oct 2026 | v0.16.0 · 14 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
coredns scores 76/100 against 73/100 for openpencil, so it is the safer default.
openpencil ships more often: 14 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for coredns.
If you want the quickest setup, openpencil is easier to run; coredns needs more configuration.
openpencil is growing faster right now (+814 stars in 30 days).
coredns details →openpencil details →
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