DashMachine vs Dash. by phntxx
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | DashMachine | Dash. by phntxx |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Unlicense | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,264 | ★ 944 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google homepage | Google homepage |
What are DashMachine and Dash. by phntxx?
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
Dash. by phntxx
Dash. is a modern, configurable dashboard for organizing self-hosted services and bookmarks. It is set up with a single configuration file and shows services in a clean responsive grid.
- Single-file configuration
- Responsive service grid
- Search integration
- Light and dark themes
DashMachine vs Dash. by phntxx: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Dash. by phntxx's repository is archived and no longer developed, while DashMachine is actively maintained. DashMachine is written in Python, while Dash. by phntxx is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Unlicense for DashMachine versus MIT for Dash. by phntxx. Dash. by phntxx is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for DashMachine.
Why pick each one
Choose DashMachine if…
- Flexible widget system
- Simple deployment
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Smaller community
Choose Dash. by phntxx if…
- Simple setup
- Clean responsive design
Watch out for
- No service status checks
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is DashMachine or Dash. by phntxx 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 Dash. by phntxx free and open-source?
Yes. DashMachine is licensed under Unlicense and Dash. by phntxx under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DashMachine and Dash. by phntxx with Docker?
DashMachine: yes. Dash. by phntxx: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, DashMachine or Dash. by phntxx?
Dash. by phntxx has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for DashMachine. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.