# parlant vs Shields

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

| | parlant | Shields |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 72/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #22 of 209 in AI Agents | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 18 311 | 27 331 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +21 | +125 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 5 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v3.3.2 · 28 Apr 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Python | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 72/100 for parlant, so it is the safer default.

parlant ships more often: 5 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

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

Shields is growing faster right now (+125 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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