# livekit vs PairDrop

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

| | livekit | PairDrop |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 118 in Media Server | #2 of 86 in File Sharing |
| GitHub stars | 21 891 ✓ | 11 711 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +816 ✓ | +252 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 19 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.13.11 · 25 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

livekit scores 80/100 against 75/100 for PairDrop, so it is the safer default.

livekit ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for PairDrop.

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

livekit is growing faster right now (+816 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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