# Kavita vs NATS

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

| | Kavita | NATS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Comics | #2 of 12 in Message Broker |
| GitHub stars | 11 968 | 20 957 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +232 ✓ | +192 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 8 | 18 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.9.1.4 · 2 Sept 2026 | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C# | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

NATS scores 80/100 against 73/100 for Kavita, so it is the safer default.

NATS ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 8 for Kavita.

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

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/kavita-vs-nats