# Portainer vs prefect

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

| | Portainer | prefect |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 44 in Container Management | #5 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 38 737 ✓ | 24 093 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +188 ✓ | +181 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 ✓ | 17 |
| Latest release | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 | 2.20.27 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Zlib | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

prefect scores 80/100 against 77/100 for Portainer, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 17 for prefect.

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

## Details

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

## Related comparisons

- [Kestra vs prefect](https://selfhost.directory/compare/kestra-vs-prefect)

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