# hermes-agent vs NATS

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

| | hermes-agent | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 89/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 120 in AI Assistant | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 258 061 ✓ | 20 954 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +9 638 ✓ | +192 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 36 ✓ | 18 |
| Latest release | v0.22.5 · 23 Oct 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

hermes-agent scores 89/100 against 80/100 for NATS, so it is the safer default.

hermes-agent ships more often: 36 stable releases in the past year, against 18 for NATS.

hermes-agent is growing faster right now (+9 638 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nats