NGINXvsPortainer
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| NGINX | Portainer | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Web Servers | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 32 000 | 38 742 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +276 | +180 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 | 21 |
| Latest release | release-1.31.8 · 21 Oct 2026 | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Zlib |
| Main language | C | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
NGINX scores 84/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.
If you want the quickest setup, Portainer is easier to run; NGINX needs more configuration.
NGINX details →Portainer details →
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