# LXC vs Portainer

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

| | LXC | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 2 in Containers | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 5 288 | 38 736 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +24 | +187 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | v7.0.0 · 30 Apr 2026 | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | Zlib |
| Main language | C | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Portainer scores 77/100 against 70/100 for LXC, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for LXC.

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

Portainer is growing faster right now (+187 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [LXC](https://selfhost.directory/project/lxc) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/lxc.md)
- [Portainer](https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/portainer.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/lxc-vs-portainer