# MeshCentral vs netbird

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

| | MeshCentral | netbird |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 74/100 | 81/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 23 in Remote Access | #2 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 7 528 | 30 284 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +250 | +816 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 40 ✓ |
| Latest release | 1.3.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

netbird scores 81/100 against 74/100 for MeshCentral, so it is the safer default.

netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 16 for MeshCentral.

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

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

## Details

- [MeshCentral](https://selfhost.directory/project/meshcentral) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/meshcentral.md)
- [netbird](https://selfhost.directory/project/netbird) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/netbird.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/meshcentral-vs-netbird