NakamavsZulip
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Nakama | Zulip | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 82/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 62 in Game Servers | #1 of 110 in Chat |
| GitHub stars | 13 605 | 26 133 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +63 | +190 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 6 |
| Latest release | v3.41.0 · 18 Sept 2026 | 12.3 · 21 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Zulip scores 82/100 against 76/100 for Nakama, so it is the safer default.
Nakama ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for Zulip.
Zulip is growing faster right now (+190 stars in 30 days).
Nakama details →Zulip details →