ShieldsvsYOURLS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Shields | YOURLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80/100 | 74/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 166 in Developer Tools | #1 of 23 in URL Shortener |
| GitHub stars | 27 331 | 12 289 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +125 | +46 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 4 |
| Latest release | — | 1.10.6 · 30 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | JavaScript | PHP |
Which one should you pick?
Shields scores 80/100 against 74/100 for YOURLS, so it is the safer default.
YOURLS ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Shields.
If you want the quickest setup, Shields is easier to run; YOURLS needs more configuration.
Shields is growing faster right now (+125 stars in 30 days).
Shields details →YOURLS details →