# hanko vs Pterodactyl

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

| | hanko | Pterodactyl |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68/100 | 75/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #7 of 40 in Authentication | #5 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 9 052 | 9 437 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +16 | +183 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | backend/v3.1.0 · 1 Oct 2026 | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

Pterodactyl scores 75/100 against 68/100 for hanko, so it is the safer default.

Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for hanko.

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

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

## Details

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

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