head to head · open source
ansible vs ftpgrab
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ftpgrab has 562 stars, 77 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 12,484% (70,721 vs 562 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; ftpgrab is written in Go under MIT. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, ftpgrab 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.
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Side by side
| ansible | ftpgrab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 562 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 77 |
| 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 ftpgrab if
- You want the ftpgrab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and ftpgrab 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 ftpgrab
FTPGrab is an MIT licensed Go command line tool and container image that pulls files from remote FTP and SFTP servers onto a NAS, server, or computer on a schedule, built for unattended transfers in seedbox, home server, and similar setups.
read the full ftpgrab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or ftpgrab more popular?
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars and ftpgrab has 562. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and ftpgrab free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ftpgrab under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and ftpgrab?
ansible is written in Python and ftpgrab 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 ftpgrab?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,721 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ftpgrab if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.