# Shields vs windmill

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

| | Shields | windmill |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools | #6 of 32 in Workflow Automation |
| GitHub stars | 27 331 ✓ | 18 312 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +125 | +283 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 163 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v1.853.0 · 28 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | JavaScript | Rust |

## Which one should you pick?

Shields scores 80/100 against 77/100 for windmill, so it is the safer default.

windmill ships more often: 163 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.

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

windmill is growing faster right now (+283 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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