# OpenWrt vs Pterodactyl

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

| | OpenWrt | Pterodactyl |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 ✓ | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 8 in Operating System | #5 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 28 967 ✓ | 9 438 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +464 ✓ | +184 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 11 ✓ |
| Latest release | v25.12.6 · 18 Oct 2026 | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | C | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

OpenWrt scores 83/100 against 75/100 for Pterodactyl, so it is the safer default.

Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for OpenWrt.

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

OpenWrt is growing faster right now (+464 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [OpenWrt](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwrt) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwrt.md)
- [Pterodactyl](https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/openwrt-vs-pterodactyl