head to head · open source
algo vs sliver
algo has 30,388 GitHub stars, 2,366 forks, 77 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. sliver has 11,857 stars, 1,589 forks, 222 open issues and last shipped today. algo leads on adoption by 156% (30,388 vs 11,857 stars). algo is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; sliver is written in Go under GPL-3.0. algo has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, sliver 13%. sliver 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
| algo | sliver | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 12K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick algo if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick sliver if
- You want the sliver feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and sliver fits your workflow better
About algo
Algo VPN is a set of Ansible scripts from Trail of Bits, written in Python and released under AGPL 3.0, that turns a fresh cloud virtual machine into a personal WireGuard and IPsec VPN server, and it is aimed at individuals and small teams who want to run their own VPN instead of trusting a hosted provider.
About sliver
Sliver is an open source, cross platform adversary emulation and red team framework written in Go, used by security teams of all sizes to perform authorized security testing with implants that support command and control over Mutual TLS (mTLS), WireGuard, HTTP(S), and DNS.
read the full sliver overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is algo or sliver more popular?
algo has 30,388 GitHub stars and sliver has 11,857. algo has the larger community by that measure.
Are algo and sliver free?
Both are open source. algo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and sliver under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between algo and sliver?
algo is written in Python and sliver 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, algo or sliver?
Choose algo if you want the larger community (30,388 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose sliver if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.