head to head · open source
docker-nginx-certbot vs pki
docker-nginx-certbot has 1,211 GitHub stars, 195 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pki has 515 stars, 160 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. docker-nginx-certbot leads on adoption by 135% (1,211 vs 515 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 31%. docker-nginx-certbot 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 | ★ 515 |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 195 | ⑂ 160 |
| 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 Automatically create and renew website SSL certificates using the [Let's Encrypt][1] free certificate authority and its client [ certbot ][2]. Built on top of the [official Nginx Docker images][9] (both Debian and Alpine), and uses OpenSSL/LibreSSL to automatically create the Diffie Hellman parameters used during the initial handshake of some ciphers. :information source: The very first time this container is started it might take a long time before it is ready to respond to requests. Read more about this in the Diffie Hellman parameters section. :information source: Please use a specific…
read the full docker-nginx-certbot overview →
About pki
Dogtag PKI The Dogtag Certificate System is an enterprise class open source Certificate Authority (CA). It is a full featured system, and has been hardened by real world deployments. It supports all aspects of certificate lifecycle management, including key archival, OCSP and smartcard management, and much more. The Dogtag PKI suite provides the following subsystems: Certificate Authority (CA) Key Recovery Authority (KRA) Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Responder Token Key Service (TKS) Token Processing System (TPS) Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME) Responder Documentation The best…
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Frequently asked questions
Is docker-nginx-certbot or pki more popular?
docker-nginx-certbot has 1,211 GitHub stars and pki has 515. 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 (1,211 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pki if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.