# NGINX vs Nova Server

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

| | NGINX | Nova Server |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Web Servers | #20 of 25 in Proxy |
| GitHub stars | 31 998 ✓ | 354 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +277 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 ✓ | 9 |
| Latest release | release-1.31.8 · 21 Oct 2026 | v1.92.2 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Other |
| Main language | C | Shell |

## Which one should you pick?

NGINX scores 84/100 against 46/100 for Nova Server, so it is the safer default.

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

NGINX is growing faster right now (+277 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [NGINX](https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nginx.md)
- [Nova Server](https://selfhost.directory/project/nova-server) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nova-server.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/nginx-vs-nova-server