head to head · open source
nats-server vs Workbench
nats-server has 20,989 GitHub stars, 2,025 forks, 472 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Workbench has 454 stars, 47 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. nats-server leads on adoption by 4,523% (20,989 vs 454 stars). nats-server is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Workbench is written in TypeScript under MIT. nats-server has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Workbench 10%. 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 | Workbench | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 454 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-06-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 47 |
| 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 Workbench if
- You want the Workbench feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Workbench fits your workflow better
About nats-server
NATS is a simple, secure and performant communications system for digital systems, services and devices. NATS is part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). NATS has over 40 client language implementations, and its server can run on premise, in the cloud, at the edge, and even on a Raspberry Pi. NATS can secure and simplify design and operation of modern distributed systems. [![License][License Image]][License Url] [![Build][Build Status Image]][Build Status Url] [![Release][Release Image]][Release Url] [![Slack][Slack Image]][Slack Url] [![Coverage][Coverage Image]][Coverage Url] [![Docker…
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About Workbench
Workbench Open source BullMQ dashboard. Drop in for any Node or Bun backend. Workbench is a modern dashboard for BullMQ. Runs jobs, flows, schedulers and metrics, all served from your own backend behind your own auth. Zero infrastructure — mounts as a route in your existing app, or run as a standalone Docker container Adapters for Hono, Elysia, Express, Fastify, Koa, NestJS, AdonisJS, Next.js, TanStack Start, Astro, Nuxt, Bun.serve, and h3 Standalone image on GHCR ( ghcr.io/ /workbench standalone ) for Docker / Kubernetes deployments MCP server for Cursor, Claude Desktop, Zed, and Continue.dev — drive your…
read the full Workbench overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nats-server or Workbench more popular?
nats-server has 20,989 GitHub stars and Workbench has 454. nats-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are nats-server and Workbench free?
Both are open source. nats-server is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Workbench under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nats-server and Workbench?
nats-server is written in Go and Workbench 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 Workbench?
Choose nats-server if you want the larger community (20,989 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Workbench if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.