Softwr

Developer Tools · head to head

Backstage vs Frappe

Backstage logo

Backstage

Developer Tools

Open source internal developer portal framework created and open sourced by Spotify

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Frappe logo

Frappe

Developer Tools

The Python web framework behind ERPNext, sold as managed hosting through Frappe Cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Backstage backstage is a framework rather than a product: there is no supported turnkey install, so getting to a usable portal means a TypeScript and React project your team owns, hosts and upgrades forever.; Frappe the framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • They diverge on capability: Backstage covers Software catalogue, Frappe covers DocType modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Backstage and Frappe actually diverge.

Attributes where Backstage and Frappe differ
AttributeBackstageFrappe
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by site or server
PlatformsWeb, Self-hosted, Linux, Docker, KubernetesWeb, Linux, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Developer Tools).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Backstage

  • Software catalogue
  • Software templates
  • TechDocs
  • Plugin architecture
  • Kubernetes plugin
  • Search
  • Entity ownership model
  • Auth provider integrations

Only in Frappe

  • DocType modelling
  • Role and field permissions
  • Built-in REST API
  • Background jobs
  • Bench CLI
  • Frappe Cloud hosting
  • App marketplace
  • Multi-tenancy

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Backstage

  • An engineering organisation past roughly a hundred services where nobody can reliably answer who owns a given service at two in the morningnot Frappe
  • A platform team enforcing golden paths, so a new service is scaffolded with logging, CI and security defaults already wired innot Frappe
  • A company consolidating scattered READMEs and Confluence pages into docs that live beside the code and cannot silently rot unnoticednot Frappe
  • A regulated business that needs an auditable register of every running service, its owner and its data classificationnot Frappe

Frappe

  • A team building an internal business application that needs permissions, audit trail and an API on day one rather than in month threenot Backstage
  • An ERPNext user who wants managed hosting, automatic updates and offsite backups without hiring a systems administratornot Backstage
  • An Indian or emerging-market business that wants to pay for application hosting in local currency at local price pointsnot Backstage
  • A consultancy shipping custom vertical apps to clients on a shared framework with per-client site isolationnot Backstage

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Backstage

  • Backstage is a framework rather than a product: there is no supported turnkey install, so getting to a usable portal means a TypeScript and React project your team owns, hosts and upgrades forever.
  • Upstream releases move quickly and plugin APIs have broken across major versions, so a customised deployment accumulates upgrade debt and teams routinely fall months behind on versions they cannot cheaply catch up on.
  • The catalogue is only as good as the YAML descriptors engineers remember to write; without enforcement the register drifts out of date, and a developer portal nobody trusts is abandoned faster than one that never existed.
  • Community plugin quality varies sharply, with many unmaintained or pinned to old core versions, so the plugin that made the business case may be the one blocking your next upgrade.
  • Spotify Portal, the packaged commercial route, publishes no price at all and is quoted as a custom annual subscription, so the only cost you can actually forecast up front is the self-hosted one, which is the option with the largest hidden staffing bill.

Frappe

  • The framework is strongly opinionated: its own ORM, templating and job queue mean general Python and Django experience transfers only partly, and onboarding a new developer takes weeks rather than days.
  • The developer pool is small and heavily concentrated in India, so hiring Frappe experience elsewhere is slow and expensive relative to mainstream stacks.
  • Documentation is uneven in depth and lags behind releases in places, so real answers often come from reading the source or the community forum.
  • Major version upgrades of the framework have historically broken custom apps that reach past the DocType layer, so bespoke code carries a recurring maintenance cost at each upgrade.
  • Frappe Cloud recommends against its cheapest Hetzner-backed option for mission-critical production, so the headline $5 entry price is not the price of a production-grade deployment.

Pricing, plan by plan

Backstage

Free
  • Backstage (open source)Free
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Software catalogue, templates, TechDocs and search
    • Full plugin ecosystem
  • Spotify Portal for Backstage$undefined/year
    • Packaged commercial distribution from Spotify
    • Spotify premium plugins including Soundcheck and Insights
    • Simplified setup and managed upgrade path

Frappe

Free
  • Framework, self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • Install with bench on your own Linux servers
    • You carry updates, backups and security patching
  • Frappe Cloud Sites$5/month
    • Also listed at ₹410 per month
    • Shared servers with 150+ installable apps
    • Automatic updates and offsite backups
  • Frappe Cloud Servers$40/month
    • Also listed at ₹3,600 per month
    • Dedicated or shared virtual machines
    • Unlimited sites on your server

Which should you pick?

Choose Backstage if

  • You need software catalogue.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want software templates.
Backstage review

Choose Frappe if

  • You need doctype modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want role and field permissions.
Frappe review

Questions people ask

Is Backstage or Frappe better?
Neither clearly leads. Backstage starts at Free and Frappe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Backstage or Frappe?
Backstage starts at Free and Frappe at Free.
Does Backstage or Frappe run on more platforms?
Backstage runs on Web, Self-hosted, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes. Frappe runs on Web, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Backstage for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Backstage best used for?
Backstage is most often used for an engineering organisation past roughly a hundred services where nobody can reliably answer who owns a given service at two in the morning, a platform team enforcing golden paths, so a new service is scaffolded with logging, ci and security defaults already wired in, a company consolidating scattered readmes and confluence pages into docs that live beside the code and cannot silently rot unnoticed, a regulated business that needs an auditable register of every running service, its owner and its data classification. Of those, an engineering organisation past roughly a hundred services where nobody can reliably answer who owns a given service at two in the morning and a platform team enforcing golden paths, so a new service is scaffolded with logging, ci and security defaults already wired in are not what Frappe is typically brought in for.
What can Backstage do that Frappe cannot?
Backstage covers Software catalogue, Software templates, TechDocs, Plugin architecture. Frappe covers DocType modelling, Role and field permissions, Built-in REST API, Background jobs.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Backstage: Is Backstage free?

The project is Apache 2.0 with no licence fee. The real cost is engineering time; teams commonly dedicate one to two engineers permanently to running it.

Frappe: Is Frappe the same as ERPNext?

No. Frappe is the framework; ERPNext is the ERP application written on it. You can run Frappe without ERPNext to build your own applications.

Backstage: Do I need to write code to use it?

Yes. Configuring and extending a Backstage application is a TypeScript and React project. This is the single most common misjudgement buyers make.

Frappe: What licence is the framework under?

MIT, which is permissive and imposes no obligation to publish your changes, unlike the AGPL used by several open source ERP rivals.

Backstage: What is Spotify Portal for Backstage?

A commercial distribution from Spotify with premium plugins and support, generally available since October 2025 and sold as a quoted annual subscription with no published price.

Frappe: Can I pay in rupees?

Yes. Frappe Cloud publishes the same plans in Indian rupees, ₹410 a month for sites and ₹3,600 for servers, rather than converting a dollar price at checkout.

Backstage: Who owns the project?

Spotify created and open sourced it; it is now a CNCF project, so the upstream roadmap is not solely Spotify controlled.

Frappe: Do I have to use Frappe Cloud?

No, self-hosting with bench or Docker is fully supported and free. Frappe Cloud is a convenience purchase, and it funds the open source work.

Share

Related pages

More on Backstage

More on Frappe

Keep looking

Other head to heads