# dagster vs NATS

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

| | dagster | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 7 in Data Pipelines | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 16 348 | 20 956 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +149 | +191 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 28 ✓ | 18 |
| Latest release | 1.13.27 · 26 Oct 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

NATS scores 80/100 against 77/100 for dagster, so it is the safer default.

dagster ships more often: 28 stable releases in the past year, against 18 for NATS.

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

## Details

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

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