livekitvsPhoton
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| livekit | Photon | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 54/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 118 in Media Server | #16 of 85 in Feed Reader |
| GitHub stars | 21 915 | 557 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +816 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 19 | 9 |
| Latest release | v1.13.11 · 25 Oct 2026 | v2.4.3 · 30 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Svelte |
Which one should you pick?
livekit scores 80/100 against 54/100 for Photon, so it is the safer default.
livekit ships more often: 19 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for Photon.
If you want the quickest setup, Photon is easier to run; livekit needs more configuration.
livekit is growing faster right now (+816 stars in 30 days).
livekit details →Photon details →
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