head to head · open source
Signal vs docker-nginx-certbot
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars, 6,933 forks, 498 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. docker-nginx-certbot has 1,210 stars, 195 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Signal leads on adoption by 2,344% (29,568 vs 1,210 stars). Signal is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0; docker-nginx-certbot is written in Shell under MIT. Signal has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, docker-nginx-certbot 16%. docker-nginx-certbot 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Signal | docker-nginx-certbot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Kotlin | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 195 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Signal if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick docker-nginx-certbot if
- You want the docker-nginx-certbot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and docker-nginx-certbot fits your workflow better
About Signal
Signal Android Signal is a simple, powerful, and secure messenger that uses your phone's data connection (WiFi/4G/5G) to communicate securely. Millions of people use Signal every day for free and instantaneous communication anywhere in the world. Send and receive high fidelity messages, participate in HD voice/video calls, and explore a growing set of new features that help you stay connected. Signal’s advanced privacy preserving technology is always enabled, so you can focus on sharing the moments that matter with the people who matter to you. Currently available on the Play Store and signal.org. Also available…
read the full Signal overview →
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 →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Data Security & Privacy projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Security & Privacy field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Signal or docker-nginx-certbot more popular?
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars and docker-nginx-certbot has 1,210. Signal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Signal and docker-nginx-certbot free?
Both are open source. Signal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and docker-nginx-certbot under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Signal and docker-nginx-certbot?
Signal is written in Kotlin and docker-nginx-certbot in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Signal or docker-nginx-certbot?
Choose Signal if you want the larger community (29,568 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose docker-nginx-certbot if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.