Sandstorm
Personal server for running apps on your own hardware easily and securely.
Sandstorm vs Umbrel
Two self-hosted Self-hosting Solutions apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Sandstorm | Umbrel | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Personal server for running apps on your own hardware easily and securely. | Beautiful personal server OS for self-hosting. Install on a Raspberry Pi 4 or Ubuntu/Debian. |
| GitHub stars | 7,079 | 12,527 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 9 | 651 |
| Last activity | 2026-05-26 | 2026-11-03 |
| Latest release | – | 2.1.0-beta.1 (2026-11-03) |
| Maintenance health | Maintained | Active |
| License | Apache-2.0 | ⊘ Proprietary |
| Language / platform | C++, Shell | Nodejs, Docker |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $3.5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Self-hosting Solutions | Self-hosting Solutions |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Umbrel is more popular on GitHub: 12.5k stars vs 7.1k for Sandstorm.
- Umbrel had more commits in the last 12 months (651 vs 9).
- Umbrel has more recent repository activity (2026-11-03 vs 2026-05-26).
- Umbrel publishes GitHub releases (latest 2.1.0-beta.1); no GitHub release was found for Sandstorm.
- Sandstorm is licensed under Apache-2.0, Umbrel under ⊘ Proprietary.
- Sandstorm is written in C++, Shell; Umbrel in Nodejs.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Sandstorm: none listed; Umbrel: Docker.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Sandstorm (~512 MB server) than Umbrel (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Umbrel leads on GitHub popularity, commit activity and recent activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sandstorm or Umbrel more popular?
Umbrel has more GitHub stars (12,527 vs 7,079 for Sandstorm, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Sandstorm or Umbrel?
Umbrel had more commits over the last 12 months (651 vs 9). The last recorded activity was 2026-05-26 for Sandstorm and 2026-11-03 for Umbrel. Our health labels: Sandstorm is “Maintained”, Umbrel is “Active”.
What licenses do Sandstorm and Umbrel use?
Sandstorm: Apache-2.0. Umbrel: ⊘ Proprietary. Note: Umbrel includes a non-free license component.
Can I run Sandstorm and Umbrel with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Umbrel. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
Umbrel
Beautiful personal server OS for self-hosting. Install on a Raspberry Pi 4 or Ubuntu/Debian.
Browse all self-hosted Self-hosting Solutions apps.