# invoice-ninja vs Shields

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

| | invoice-ninja | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in Invoicing | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 10 375 | 27 337 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +265 ✓ | +131 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 37 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v5.13.51 · 30 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 70/100 for invoice-ninja, so it is the safer default.

invoice-ninja ships more often: 37 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; invoice-ninja needs more configuration.

invoice-ninja is growing faster right now (+265 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [invoice-ninja](https://selfhost.directory/project/invoice-ninja) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/invoice-ninja.md)
- [Shields](https://selfhost.directory/project/shields) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shields.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/invoice-ninja-vs-shields