PterodactylvsZero
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Pterodactyl | Zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 | 56/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 62 in Game Servers | #22 of 120 in AI Assistant |
| GitHub stars | 9 439 | 1 769 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +184 | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 | 10 |
| Latest release | v1.15.2 · 21 Oct 2026 | v0.11.0 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | PHP | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Pterodactyl scores 75/100 against 56/100 for Zero, so it is the safer default.
Pterodactyl ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 10 for Zero.
If you want the quickest setup, Zero is easier to run; Pterodactyl needs more configuration.
Pterodactyl is growing faster right now (+184 stars in 30 days).
Pterodactyl details →Zero details →