head to head · open source
nats-server vs routr
nats-server has 20,989 GitHub stars, 2,025 forks, 472 open issues and last shipped yesterday. routr has 1,725 stars, 184 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. nats-server leads on adoption by 1,117% (20,989 vs 1,725 stars). nats-server is written in Go under Apache-2.0; routr is written in TypeScript under MIT. nats-server has attracted 10% 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 | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 184 |
| 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 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…
read the full nats-server overview →
About routr
Routr is a lightweight sip proxy, location server, and registrar that provides a reliable and scalable SIP infrastructure for telephony carriers, communication service providers, and integrators. Content Community Should you try Routr? Contact us Features The official handbook Deployment Docker Kubernetes Gitpod Getting started with the CTL First steps with the NodeSDK Custom Processors and Middleware Documentation Bugs and feedback Sponsors Contributing License Community We are building Routr in the open. The best to communicate with us is via GitHub Discussions. Special Announcement: We now have a Discord…
read the full routr overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nats-server or routr more popular?
nats-server has 20,989 GitHub stars and routr has 1,725. 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 (20,989 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose routr if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.