head to head · open source
ansible vs clusternet
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. clusternet has 1,451 stars, 208 forks, 72 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 4,774% (70,721 vs 1,451 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; clusternet is written in Go under Apache-2.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, clusternet 14%. ansible 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ansible | clusternet | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 208 |
| 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 clusternet if
- You want the clusternet feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and clusternet 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 clusternet
Clusternet is a CNCF Sandbox add on, licensed Apache 2.0 and written in Go, that lets platform teams manage and visit Kubernetes clusters running on public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud or the edge as though those clusters were running locally.
read the full clusternet overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Orchestration & Scheduling projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Orchestration & Scheduling field.
Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or clusternet more popular?
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars and clusternet has 1,451. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and clusternet free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and clusternet under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and clusternet?
ansible is written in Python and clusternet 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, ansible or clusternet?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,721 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose clusternet if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.