Spotify backstage alternative: compare Port to Backstage
Need a Spotify Backstage alternative that is simple to use? You've come to the right place - choose Port over Backstage for a comprehensive software catalog that fits your data model, inclusion of live data and K8s visibility as well as broad self-service developer actions and the ability to use your developer portal for workflow automation.
Port
Backstage
Software Catalog
Ability to accurately reflect data model / Number of blueprint/types
Bring your own data model: unlimited blueprints
Accurate dependency reflection
Create dependencies between any data model element
Limited to relationships between the 6 kinds
Rich properties
JSON schema, JQ support, mirror properties, markdown, etc
Json schema only
API-based data ingestion
REST API, Terraform, GitOps, CI/CD
GitOps
Out of the box data ingestion (k8s, github, CI/CD, etc)
Software templates and self-service
Scaffolder
Custom self-service actions
Fallback & retry mechanism
Usage restriction policies
3rd party runners orchestration
Trigger via API
Kubernetes Catalog
Visibility for K8S objects
(doesn't support Cron jobs, not stateful, no events, etc)
Multi cluster support
CRD support (ArgoCD, Istio, etc)
(rigid dashboard, change requires coding)
Flexible K8s views and presentation
(rigid view, change requires coding)
Workflow automation
Event based subscriptions
TTL
Cron jobs
Scorecards (e.g. quality, reliability, maturity)
Define any scorecard, no-code
Live integration with tools such as DataDog, Jira, PagerDuty etc
Native integration with CI/CD data
Grid report for managers
TechDocs
RBAC, Security & Audit
No-Code RBAC
(paid plugin)
RBAC on anything
Per-plugin implementation required
Custom roles definition
Activity & Audit log
SSO
Identity provider automatic ownership sync
(No support for Google Groups, Okta, or HR systems)
Previous-published policies view
Global Search & Query
UI Search
Global search and query including plugin data, K8s data and all catalog data
basic query support, doesn't include plugin data
Dashboard & reports builder
Extensibility
Customizable pages and views
Out-of-the-box plugins
(requires coding)
Extensions using
Blueprints
Plugins
DevEx Center
Surveys
(paid plugin)
Knowledge Exchange
(paid plugin)
Granular usage insights
Paid plugin, only on page views and active users
Why teams choose Port
Bring your own data model
Port’s software catalog uses an API to populate with all the data you need to accurately model your data, in minutes, with zero coding.
Full developer self-service
From scaffolding to day-2 operations, provisioning ephemeral environments and more, Port does it all.
Workflow automation
Easily automate devops routines based on Port’s software catalog and event subscription mechanism.
Easy to set up
No coding, no complex deployments, ready in minutes.
.png)
.png)