head to head · open source
1Panel vs Cosmos Server
1Panel has 36,955 GitHub stars, 3,353 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Cosmos Server has 6,158 stars, 249 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. 1Panel leads on adoption by 500% (36,955 vs 6,158 stars). 1Panel is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Cosmos Server is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. 1Panel has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Cosmos Server 4%. 1Panel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| 1Panel | Cosmos Server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 249 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick 1Panel if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Cosmos Server if
- You want the Cosmos Server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Cosmos Server fits your workflow better
About 1Panel
1Panel is an open source Linux server management panel that delivers server administration through a modern web interface. It operates in the Linux infrastructure ecosystem and combines traditional server operations with AI workload management, positioning itself as a unified platform from bare metal to agent level control.
read the full 1Panel overview →
About Cosmos Server
Cosmos Server is a self hosted cloud platform written in Go that acts as a secure gateway and server manager for a home server. It lives in the self hosting and infrastructure ecosystem, and it is distributed primarily as a Docker image ( azukaar/cosmos server ) with a web UI for managing applications from any device. The project bundles a reverse proxy, an authentication server, a container manager, a storage manager, a VPN, backups, monitoring, and an app store into a single control plane, and it is published under a NOASSERTION license with a homepage at cosmos cloud.io.
read the full Cosmos Server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is 1Panel or Cosmos Server more popular?
1Panel has 36,955 GitHub stars and Cosmos Server has 6,158. 1Panel has the larger community by that measure.
Are 1Panel and Cosmos Server free?
Both are open source. 1Panel is licensed under GPL-3.0, and Cosmos Server has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between 1Panel and Cosmos Server?
1Panel is written in Go and Cosmos Server in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, 1Panel or Cosmos Server?
Choose 1Panel if you want the larger community (36,955 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Cosmos Server if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.