PterodactylvsShields
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Pterodactyl | Shields | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 62 in Game Servers | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools |
| GitHub stars | 9 438 | 27 331 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +183 | +125 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 | 0 |
| Latest release | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | PHP | JavaScript |
Which one should you pick?
Shields scores 80/100 against 75/100 for Pterodactyl, so it is the safer default.
Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.
If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; Pterodactyl needs more configuration.
Pterodactyl details →Shields details →