# nhost vs Shields

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

| | nhost | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 67/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 15 in Backend as a Service | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 9 370 | 27 331 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +63 | +125 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 34 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | cli@1.52.2 · 26 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 67/100 for nhost, so it is the safer default.

nhost ships more often: 34 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

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

## Details

- [nhost](https://selfhost.directory/project/nhost) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/nhost.md)
- [Shields](https://selfhost.directory/project/shields) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shields.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/nhost-vs-shields