# LXD vs Shields

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

| | LXD | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 70/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 15 in Virtualization | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 4 841 | 27 331 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +10 | +129 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | lxd-6.10.0 · 17 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Easy | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

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

LXD ships more often: 18 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

Shields is growing faster right now (+129 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/lxd-vs-shields