Encorevsnetbird
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Encore | netbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 14 in Platform as a Service | #2 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 12 649 | 30 296 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +164 | +828 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 40 |
| Latest release | v1.58.8 · 20 Oct 2026 | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MPL-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Go |
Which one should you pick?
netbird scores 81/100 against 72/100 for Encore, so it is the safer default.
netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for Encore.
netbird is growing faster right now (+828 stars in 30 days).
Encore details →netbird details →