# NorthCinder vs Ollama

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

| | NorthCinder | Ollama |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 33/100 | 95/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #196 of 209 in AI Agents | #1 of 25 in LLM Inference |
| GitHub stars | 1 205 | 185 150 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +0 | +3 497 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 51 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.2.1 · 22 Aug 2026 | v0.40.13 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | JavaScript | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

Ollama scores 95/100 against 33/100 for NorthCinder, so it is the safer default.

Ollama ships more often: 51 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for NorthCinder.

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

Ollama is growing faster right now (+3 497 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [NorthCinder](https://selfhost.directory/project/northcinder) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/northcinder.md)
- [Ollama](https://selfhost.directory/project/ollama) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/ollama.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/northcinder-vs-ollama