# headscale vs livekit

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

| | headscale | livekit |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #2 of 118 in Media Server |
| GitHub stars | 45 162 ✓ | 21 913 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 055 ✓ | +814 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 19 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | v1.13.11 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 80/100 for livekit, so it is the safer default.

livekit ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

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

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [livekit](https://selfhost.directory/project/livekit) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/livekit.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-livekit