Heimdall vs Organizr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Heimdall
Simple application dashboard and launcher
VS
Organizr
Tabbed portal for your self-hosted services
| Feature | Heimdall | Organizr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 62 · Good |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,331 | ★ 5,817 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Heimdall and Organizr?
Heimdall
Heimdall is a simple dashboard for organizing all your web applications and links in one place with enhanced app tiles. It targets users who want an easy, no-frills start page. It is deployed via Docker.
- Simple app tile dashboard
- Enhanced tiles with live data
- Search bar integration
- Easy to use
Organizr
Organizr provides a tabbed front end that brings all your self-hosted services together behind one portal with authentication. It targets users who want a unified, single-pane interface. It is deployed via Docker.
- Tabbed iframe portal
- Built-in authentication
- User management
- Service health pings
Heimdall vs Organizr: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Heimdall versus GPL-3.0 for Organizr.
Why pick each one
Choose Heimdall if…
- Very simple to set up
- Clean look
- Low maintenance
Watch out for
- Limited widgets
- Slow development pace
Choose Organizr if…
- Unified single-page access
- Built-in auth
- Mature
Watch out for
- Iframe approach has quirks
- Dated UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Heimdall or Organizr better?
Neither is universally better. Heimdall has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Heimdall and Organizr free and open-source?
Yes. Heimdall is licensed under MIT and Organizr under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Heimdall and Organizr with Docker?
Heimdall: yes. Organizr: yes.