Atlassian Compass vs Backstage

Atlassian Compass9.2Visit Backstage8.9Visit

Higher score Atlassian Compass #2 in Internal Developer Platforms 9.2/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Atlassian

vs

Backstage #5 in Internal Developer Platforms 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 6 features Visit Backstage

• Atlassian Compass fits best

  Teams standardizing component ownership and health

• Backstage fits best

  Teams that can operate and customize an open-source portal

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Side by side

Feature	Atlassian Compass 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Backstage 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.9
Ranking	#2 in Internal Developer Platforms	#5 in Internal Developer Platforms
Best for	Teams standardizing component ownership and health	Teams that can operate and customize an open-source portal
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$7.67/user/mo	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Cloud	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Community, Docs · 24/7	Community, Docs
Integrations	12 integrations	5 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Atlassian Compass 1/6 · Backstage 2/6
Service catalog	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Software templates	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Engineering scorecards	✓	✓
Kubernetes support	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Role-based access	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Audit logs	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Catalogs unlimited software services on the Free plan Maps dependencies and links components to owners, teams, and repositories Connects health scorecards with deployment, activity, and incident context	Catalogs services, APIs, libraries, infrastructure, and ownership metadata. Templates standardize component creation and publish projects to repositories. TechDocs, Kubernetes visibility, permissions, and plugins cover varied portal needs.
Cons	Free includes only 3 custom fields and scorecards Standard support is limited to 9/5 regional coverage Compass catalog and scorecard functionality is set to transition into the DX app	Self-hosting leaves portal operation to the adopting team. Customization through plugins can require ongoing engineering effort. Support channels are community and documentation.
Our verdict	Atlassian Compass gives engineering organizations a cloud portal for cataloging software components, services, libraries, applications, and teams. Its searchable catalog records ownership, documentation, repositories, and dependencies,… Read the review →	Backstage is an open-source framework for building an internal developer portal, aimed at developers, platform engineers, and engineering managers who need a shared view of software and ownership. Its searchable catalog covers services,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Atlassian Compass — where it wins

  • Catalogs unlimited software services on the Free plan
  • Maps dependencies and links components to owners, teams, and repositories
  • Connects health scorecards with deployment, activity, and incident context

  Where it doesn't

  • Free includes only 3 custom fields and scorecards
  • Standard support is limited to 9/5 regional coverage
  • Compass catalog and scorecard functionality is set to transition into the DX app

• Backstage — where it wins

  • Catalogs services, APIs, libraries, infrastructure, and ownership metadata.
  • Templates standardize component creation and publish projects to repositories.
  • TechDocs, Kubernetes visibility, permissions, and plugins cover varied portal needs.

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosting leaves portal operation to the adopting team.
  • Customization through plugins can require ongoing engineering effort.
  • Support channels are community and documentation.

• Atlassian Compass9.2/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A searchable component catalog with ownership, health scorecards, and operational context.

  Visit AtlassianFull verdict →
• Backstage8.9/10 · Free plan

  A customizable developer portal framework for teams prepared to self-host and extend it.

  Visit BackstageFull verdict →