# NGINX vs Portainer

> 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 | 32 002 | 38 742 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +278 ✓ | +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.

## Details

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

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