DashMachine vs Startpunkt
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | DashMachine | Startpunkt |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 65 · Good |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Unlicense | MIT |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,264 | ★ 3 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google homepage | Google homepage |
What are DashMachine and Startpunkt?
DashMachine
DashMachine is a self-hosted application dashboard for organizing and accessing your services. It supports widgets, platform integrations, and themes to build a personalized homelab landing page.
- Application tiles and widgets
- Platform integrations
- Theming support
- Search functionality
Startpunkt
Startpunkt is a clean, modern startpage that automatically discovers applications running in Kubernetes and Docker through annotations. It presents them as bookmarks in a themeable interface.
- Kubernetes app auto-discovery
- Annotation-based config
- Multiple themes
- Lightweight footprint
DashMachine vs Startpunkt: key differences
DashMachine is written in Python, while Startpunkt is built with Java. Licensing differs — Unlicense for DashMachine versus MIT for Startpunkt. DashMachine is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Startpunkt. DashMachine is the more established project (first released 2020), while Startpunkt arrived in 2024. DashMachine has the considerably larger community, at 1,264 GitHub stars versus 3.
Why pick each one
Choose DashMachine if…
- Flexible widget system
- Simple deployment
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Smaller community
Choose Startpunkt if…
- Great cluster integration
- Modern look
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Best suited for Kubernetes
Frequently asked questions
Is DashMachine or Startpunkt better?
Neither is universally better. DashMachine has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are DashMachine and Startpunkt free and open-source?
Yes. DashMachine is licensed under Unlicense and Startpunkt under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DashMachine and Startpunkt with Docker?
DashMachine: yes. Startpunkt: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, DashMachine or Startpunkt?
DashMachine has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Startpunkt. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.