head to head · open source
nats-server vs routr
nats-server has 20,751 GitHub stars, 1,963 forks, 472 open issues and last shipped yesterday. routr has 1,709 stars, 180 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. nats-server leads on adoption by 1,114% (20,751 vs 1,709 stars). nats-server is written in Go under Apache-2.0; routr is written in TypeScript under MIT. nats-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, routr 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 | routr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 180 |
| 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 routr if
- You want the routr feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and routr 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 routr
Routr is an MIT licensed, TypeScript based SIP proxy, location server and registrar that gives telephony carriers, communication service providers and integrators a reliable, scalable and programmable SIP infrastructure deployable with Docker, Compose or a Kubernetes Helm chart.
read the full routr overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nats-server or routr more popular?
nats-server has 20,751 GitHub stars and routr has 1,709. nats-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are nats-server and routr free?
Both are open source. nats-server is licensed under Apache-2.0 and routr under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nats-server and routr?
nats-server is written in Go and routr in TypeScript. 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 routr?
Choose nats-server if you want the larger community (20,751 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose routr if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.