# etcd vs NATS

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

| | etcd | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 38 in Databases | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 52 433 ✓ | 20 954 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +126 | +192 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.7.3 · 22 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?

etcd scores 83/100 against 80/100 for NATS, so it is the safer default.

NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for etcd.

## Details

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

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