# minecraft vs Shields

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

| | minecraft | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 62 in Game Servers | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 14 489 | 27 331 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +158 ✓ | +129 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 22 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 25 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Shell | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 78/100 for minecraft, so it is the safer default.

minecraft ships more often: 22 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

## Details

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

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