# NATS vs netbird

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

| | NATS | netbird |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 81/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Message Broker | #2 of 56 in VPN |
| GitHub stars | 20 954 | 30 308 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +192 | +840 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 40 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

netbird scores 81/100 against 80/100 for NATS, so it is the safer default.

netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 18 for NATS.

netbird is growing faster right now (+840 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [NATS](https://selfhost.directory/project/nats) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nats.md)
- [netbird](https://selfhost.directory/project/netbird) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/netbird.md)

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