Side by side
Backstage vs Kingfisher
Both stand on plugins & extensions software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Backstage brings a software catalog, documentation, templates, search, and integrations into a customizable developer portal. Organizations should plan for self-hosting and a protected deployment environment.
Visit Backstage Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1
Kingfisher combines broad secret scanning with report formats, pre-commit hooks, and optional credential-response features. Provider API checks require authorization, and revocation is limited to supported workflows.
Visit KingfisherThe facts
| Backstage | Kingfisher | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | backstage.io | github.com |
| On plugins & extensions software | #1 of 22 | #2 of 22 |
Backstage: what it does well
- Free, open-source framework.
- Catalog tracks software ownership and metadata.
- Templates publish generated projects to GitHub or GitLab.
- TechDocs keeps documentation close to code.
- Kubernetes feature aggregates service deployments.
What to know first
- Self-hosted deployment required.
- Standalone demo setup is not production-ready.
- Minimum requirements include 20 GB disk and 6 GB memory.
- Denial-of-service protection is described as rudimentary.
Kingfisher: what it does well
- Scans files, Git history, archives, databases, and cloud storage
- Supports many developer-platform integrations
- Exports reports in JSON, SARIF, HTML, and other formats
- Pre-commit hooks can scan staged changes
- Free and Apache-2.0 licensed
What to know first
- Live validation and blast-radius checks make provider API requests
- Revocation is opt-in and limited to supported provider workflows
- Provider checks should only be used with authorization
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