# PanWatch vs WriteFreely

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

| | PanWatch | WriteFreely |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 62/100 | 65/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #3 of 9 in Fintech | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 2 275 | 5 276 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +124 ✓ | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 ✓ | 3 |
| Latest release | 0.20.0 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Python | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

WriteFreely scores 65/100 against 62/100 for PanWatch, so it is the safer default.

PanWatch ships more often: 12 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for WriteFreely.

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

PanWatch is growing faster right now (+124 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [PanWatch](https://selfhost.directory/project/panwatch) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/panwatch.md)
- [WriteFreely](https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/writefreely.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/panwatch-vs-writefreely