# release-drafter vs semantic-release

**Leader by Vioscale score:** semantic-release

| Attribute | release-drafter | semantic-release |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 49.7 (65% (medium)) | 55.3 (56% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 22 | 19 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 15,868 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 3,929 | 24,007 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A GitHub Action that maintains an up-to-date draft release by categorizing merged pull requests. Supports custom templates, semantic versioning, contributor tracking, and automated version resolution. | An open-source tool that automatically determines version numbers, generates release notes, and publishes packages by analyzing commit messages according to semantic versioning. It integrates with CI/CD systems to eliminate manual release processes. |
| integrations.count | 1 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"GitHub"}]` | `[{"name":"npm"},{"name":"GitHub Actions"},{"name":"commitizen"},{"name":"commitlint"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | ISC | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://github.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:19:48.828Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://semantic-release.gitbook.io/semantic-release/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-18T12:56:01.696Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| release.cadence_days | 17 | 4 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.7.0","date":"2026-07-29T09:43:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.6.0","date":"2026-07-19T12:24:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.5.1","date":"2026-06-25T14:28:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.5.0","date":"2026-06-25T06:58:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.4.0","date":"2026-06-16T13:13:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.3.1","date":"2026-05-25T09:26:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.3.0","date":"2026-05-08T07:23:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.2.1","date":"2026-04-29T19:28:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.2.0","date":"2026-04-09T15:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.1.1","date":"2026-03-18T18:05:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.1.0","date":"2026-03-17T16:50:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.0.0","date":"2026-03-13T15:02:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.4.0","date":"2026-03-07T17:13:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.3.0","date":"2026-03-06T08:48:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.2.0","date":"2026-01-22T09:49:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.1.1","date":"2026-01-19T19:02:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.1.0","date":"2025-01-19T14:45:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.0.0","date":"2024-02-02T05:44:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v5.25.0","date":"2023-10-17T05:09:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.25.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v5.24.0","date":"2023-06-28T07:47:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v5.24.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v26.0.0-beta.1","date":"2026-08-07T17:13:59Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v26.0.0-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.9","date":"2026-08-05T04:42:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.8","date":"2026-07-18T00:24:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.7","date":"2026-07-13T05:23:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.6","date":"2026-07-10T22:09:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.5","date":"2026-06-09T23:09:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.4","date":"2026-06-09T18:00:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.3","date":"2026-01-30T21:12:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.2","date":"2025-11-07T20:22:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1","date":"2025-10-19T21:23:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-beta.3","date":"2025-10-19T18:29:49Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-beta.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-beta.2","date":"2025-10-19T16:33:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-beta.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-beta.1","date":"2025-10-16T03:46:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-beta.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-alpha.4","date":"2025-10-16T03:32:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-alpha.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-alpha.3","date":"2025-10-15T19:40:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-alpha.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-alpha.2","date":"2025-10-15T16:41:32Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-alpha.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.1-alpha.1","date":"2025-10-15T16:39:50Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.1-alpha.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.0","date":"2025-10-15T15:58:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v25.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.0-beta.11","date":"2025-10-15T14:43:47Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.0-beta.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/semantic-release/semantic-release/releases/tag/v25.0.0-alpha.7","date":"2025-10-14T19:06:22Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v25.0.0-alpha.7"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.1 | 7.7 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=actions&package_name=release-drafter%2Frelease-drafter&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Changelog Tools)

| Capability | release-drafter | semantic-release |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Conventional commits support | - | - |
| Semver automation | - | - |
| Public hosted page | - | - |
| Embeddable widget | - | - |
| Custom domain whitelabel | - | - |
| Audience segmentation | - | - |
| Monorepo support | - | - |
| Ci cd integration | - | - |
| AI assisted drafting | - | - |
| View analytics | - | - |
| Open source self host | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:09:28.722Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*