head to head · open source
nats-server vs dino
nats-server has 20,745 GitHub stars, 1,962 forks, 472 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dino has 2,489 stars, 281 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped 29 days ago. nats-server leads on adoption by 733% (20,745 vs 2,489 stars). nats-server is written in Go under Apache-2.0; dino is written in Vala under GPL-3.0. nats-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, dino 11%. nats-server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| nats-server | dino | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Vala |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 281 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nats-server if
- You weight community size — 21K 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 dino if
- You want the dino feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Vala
- You evaluated both and dino fits your workflow better
About nats-server
nats server is the Go based, Apache 2.0 licensed server at the heart of NATS, a simple, secure and performant communications system for digital systems, services and devices, aimed at teams building distributed systems, microservices, and cloud, edge or connected vehicle deployments that need messaging without running heavyweight broker infrastructure.
read the full nats-server overview →
About dino
Dino is a modern XMPP ("Jabber") chat client for the Linux desktop, built with GTK and Vala, and it is aimed at Linux users who want a native desktop messenger for calls, encryption, file transfers, and group chats on the open XMPP network.
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Frequently asked questions
Is nats-server or dino more popular?
nats-server has 20,745 GitHub stars and dino has 2,489. nats-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are nats-server and dino free?
Both are open source. nats-server is licensed under Apache-2.0 and dino under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nats-server and dino?
nats-server is written in Go and dino in Vala. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, nats-server or dino?
Choose nats-server if you want the larger community (20,745 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose dino if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.