# NGINX vs Nightingale

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

| | NGINX | Nightingale |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 58/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Web Servers | #15 of 54 in Media Streaming |
| GitHub stars | 32 005 ✓ | 1 523 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +281 ✓ | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 ✓ | 9 |
| Latest release | release-1.31.8 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.3.0 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | C | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

NGINX scores 84/100 against 58/100 for Nightingale, so it is the safer default.

NGINX ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for Nightingale.

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

NGINX is growing faster right now (+281 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [NGINX](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx.md)
- [Nightingale](https://selfhost.directory/project/nightingale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nightingale.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/nginx-vs-nightingale