# deq vs Pterodactyl

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

| | deq | Pterodactyl |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 43/100 | 75/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #4 of 6 in Administration | #5 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 194 | 9 437 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +183 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | deq-server-v0.9.15 · 27 Jan 2026 | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | Python | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

Pterodactyl scores 75/100 against 43/100 for deq, so it is the safer default.

Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for deq.

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

Pterodactyl is growing faster right now (+183 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [deq](https://selfhost.directory/project/deq) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/deq.md)
- [Pterodactyl](https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/deq-vs-pterodactyl