head to head · open source
docker-nginx-certbot vs pki
docker-nginx-certbot has 1,205 GitHub stars, 195 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pki has 509 stars, 162 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. docker-nginx-certbot leads on adoption by 137% (1,205 vs 509 stars). docker-nginx-certbot is written in Shell under MIT; pki is written in Java under GPL-2.0. docker-nginx-certbot has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, pki 32%. pki was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (acme, 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
| docker-nginx-certbot | pki | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.2K | ★ 509 |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 195 | ⑂ 162 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick docker-nginx-certbot if
- You weight community size — 1.2K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pki if
- You want the pki feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and pki fits your workflow better
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 →
About pki
Dogtag PKI is an enterprise class open source Certificate Authority suite, written in Java and licensed under GPL 2.0, for administrators who need to run their own certificate lifecycle infrastructure rather than buy it as a hosted service.
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Frequently asked questions
Is docker-nginx-certbot or pki more popular?
docker-nginx-certbot has 1,205 GitHub stars and pki has 509. docker-nginx-certbot has the larger community by that measure.
Are docker-nginx-certbot and pki free?
Both are open source. docker-nginx-certbot is licensed under MIT and pki under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docker-nginx-certbot and pki?
docker-nginx-certbot is written in Shell and pki in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, docker-nginx-certbot or pki?
Choose docker-nginx-certbot if you want the larger community (1,205 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pki if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.