# Pterodactyl vs Sandstorm

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

| | Pterodactyl | Sandstorm |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 ✓ | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 62 in Game Servers | #1 of 5 in Web Hosting |
| GitHub stars | 9 438 ✓ | 7 078 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +184 ✓ | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Other | Other |
| Main language | PHP | JavaScript |

## Which one should you pick?

Pterodactyl scores 75/100 against 65/100 for Sandstorm, so it is the safer default.

Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Sandstorm.

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

Pterodactyl is growing faster right now (+184 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Pterodactyl](https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/pterodactyl.md)
- [Sandstorm](https://selfhost.directory/project/sandstorm) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/sandstorm.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/pterodactyl-vs-sandstorm