# prometheus vs Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

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

| | prometheus | Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 90/100 ✓ | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 104 in Monitoring & observability | #4 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 66 827 ✓ | 16 059 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +631 ✓ | +244 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 16 | 31 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.15.1 · 21 Oct 2026 | w2026-10-23 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Java |

## Which one should you pick?

prometheus scores 90/100 against 80/100 for Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), so it is the safer default.

Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 16 for prometheus.

If you want the quickest setup, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is easier to run; prometheus needs more configuration.

prometheus is growing faster right now (+631 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [prometheus](https://selfhost.directory/project/prometheus) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/prometheus.md)
- [Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)](https://selfhost.directory/project/zed-attack-proxy-zap) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/zed-attack-proxy-zap.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/prometheus-vs-zed-attack-proxy-zap