# paperclip vs Portainer

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

| | paperclip | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 88/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 125 in AI | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 108 263 ✓ | 38 736 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +26 899 ✓ | +187 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2026.1012.0 · 12 Oct 2026 | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT | Zlib |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

paperclip scores 88/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for paperclip.

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

paperclip is growing faster right now (+26 899 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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