ShieldsvsSmarterRouter
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Shields | SmarterRouter | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 47/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools | #36 of 69 in AI Chat |
| GitHub stars | 27 331 | 154 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +125 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 10 |
| Latest release | — | 2.2.5 · 18 Apr 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | JavaScript | Python |
Which one should you pick?
Shields scores 80/100 against 47/100 for SmarterRouter, so it is the safer default.
SmarterRouter ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.
If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; SmarterRouter needs more configuration.
Shields is growing faster right now (+125 stars in 30 days).
Shields details →SmarterRouter details →