head to head · open source
ansible vs ansible-role-kubernetes
ansible has 70,719 GitHub stars, 24,336 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ansible-role-kubernetes has 627 stars, 281 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 11,179% (70,719 vs 627 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; ansible-role-kubernetes is written in Jinja under MIT. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, ansible-role-kubernetes 45%. ansible was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ansible), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| ansible | ansible-role-kubernetes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 627 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Jinja |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 281 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ansible if
- You weight community size — 71K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ansible-role-kubernetes if
- You want the ansible-role-kubernetes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Jinja
- You evaluated both and ansible-role-kubernetes fits your workflow better
About ansible
Ansible is a radically simple, agentless IT automation platform, written in Python and licensed under GPL 3.0, that handles configuration management, application deployment, cloud provisioning, ad hoc task execution, network automation, and multi node orchestration for operators, developers, and network and cloud teams who manage machines over plain SSH.
read the full ansible overview →
About ansible-role-kubernetes
ansible role kubernetes is an MIT licensed Ansible role that installs Kubernetes on Linux hosts using kubeadm, aimed at operators who already manage their servers with Ansible and want a repeatable, role based path from bare machines to a working cluster.
read the full ansible-role-kubernetes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or ansible-role-kubernetes more popular?
ansible has 70,719 GitHub stars and ansible-role-kubernetes has 627. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and ansible-role-kubernetes free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ansible-role-kubernetes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and ansible-role-kubernetes?
ansible is written in Python and ansible-role-kubernetes in Jinja. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ansible or ansible-role-kubernetes?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,719 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ansible-role-kubernetes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.