headscalevsKavita
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | Kavita | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 73/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #1 of 14 in Comics |
| GitHub stars | 45 144 | 11 965 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 074 | +237 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 8 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v0.9.1.4 · 2 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | C# |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 73/100 for Kavita, so it is the safer default.
Kavita ships more often: 8 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
If you want the quickest setup, Kavita is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 074 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →Kavita details →