# hosting vs Photon

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

| | hosting | Photon |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 27/100 | 54/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 3 in Video Hosting | #16 of 85 in Feed Reader |
| GitHub stars | 11 | 557 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 9 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v2.4.3 · 30 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | JavaScript | Svelte |

## Which one should you pick?

Photon scores 54/100 against 27/100 for hosting, so it is the safer default.

Photon ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for hosting.

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

## Details

- [hosting](https://selfhost.directory/project/hosting) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hosting.md)
- [Photon](https://selfhost.directory/project/photon-2) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/photon-2.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hosting-vs-photon-2