# Pterodactyl vs Shields

> 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.

## Details

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

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