head to head · open source
certstrap vs docker-nginx-certbot
certstrap has 2,454 GitHub stars, 212 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. docker-nginx-certbot has 1,205 stars, 195 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. certstrap leads on adoption by 104% (2,454 vs 1,205 stars). certstrap is written in Go under Apache-2.0; docker-nginx-certbot is written in Shell under MIT. certstrap has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, docker-nginx-certbot 16%. docker-nginx-certbot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (certificate-authority), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| certstrap | docker-nginx-certbot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.5K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-02-03 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 212 | ⑂ 195 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick certstrap if
- You weight community size — 2.5K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick docker-nginx-certbot if
- You want the docker-nginx-certbot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and docker-nginx-certbot fits your workflow better
About certstrap
certstrap is a simple certificate manager written in Go that bootstraps a private certificate authority and public key infrastructure, aimed at operators and developers who need to issue TLS certificates without wrestling with openssl.
read the full certstrap overview →
About docker-nginx-certbot
docker nginx certbot is an MIT licensed Docker image that bundles Nginx with the certbot ACME client so that websites automatically obtain and renew free Let's Encrypt TLS certificates, and it is aimed at self hosters and small teams who run their own Nginx servers.
read the full docker-nginx-certbot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is certstrap or docker-nginx-certbot more popular?
certstrap has 2,454 GitHub stars and docker-nginx-certbot has 1,205. certstrap has the larger community by that measure.
Are certstrap and docker-nginx-certbot free?
Both are open source. certstrap is licensed under Apache-2.0 and docker-nginx-certbot under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between certstrap and docker-nginx-certbot?
certstrap is written in Go and docker-nginx-certbot in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, certstrap or docker-nginx-certbot?
Choose certstrap if you want the larger community (2,454 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose docker-nginx-certbot if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.