# Harbor vs NATS

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

| | Harbor | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 12 in Container Registry | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 29 635 ✓ | 20 954 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +191 | +192 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.14.6 · 23 Oct 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Harbor and NATS score the same (80/100), so the choice comes down to the details below.

NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for Harbor.

## Details

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

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