head to head · open source
ansible vs loonflow
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. loonflow has 2,090 stars, 704 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. ansible leads on adoption by 3,284% (70,721 vs 2,090 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; loonflow is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, loonflow 34%. ansible was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), 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 | loonflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-05-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 704 |
| 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 loonflow if
- You want the loonflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and loonflow 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 loonflow
Loonflow is an open source process automation platform for enterprises, built around ticket and workflow operations. It lives in the Django and Python web ecosystem, and the README also identifies React and MUI for the interface.
read the full loonflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or loonflow more popular?
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars and loonflow has 2,090. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and loonflow free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and loonflow under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and loonflow?
ansible is written in Python and loonflow in TypeScript. 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 loonflow?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,721 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose loonflow if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.