# NATS vs Zabbix

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

| | NATS | Zabbix |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Message Broker | #13 of 104 in Monitoring & observability |
| GitHub stars | 20 954 ✓ | 6 519 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +192 ✓ | +108 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v2.14.9 · 26 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go Template |

## Which one should you pick?

NATS scores 80/100 against 75/100 for Zabbix, so it is the safer default.

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

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

## Details

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

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