netbirdvsPterodactyl
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| netbird | Pterodactyl | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 81/100 | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 56 in VPN | #5 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 30 302 | 9 438 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +834 | +184 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 40 | 11 |
| Latest release | v0.81.5 · 26 Oct 2026 | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | Go | PHP |
Which one should you pick?
netbird scores 81/100 against 75/100 for Pterodactyl, so it is the safer default.
netbird ships more often: 40 stable releases in the past year, against 11 for Pterodactyl.
If you want the quickest setup, netbird is easier to run; Pterodactyl needs more configuration.
netbird is growing faster right now (+834 stars in 30 days).
netbird details →Pterodactyl details →
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