head to head · open source
ansible vs OpenTofu
ansible has 70,740 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenTofu has 30,232 stars, 1,371 forks, 320 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 134% (70,740 vs 30,232 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; OpenTofu is written in Go under MPL-2.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, OpenTofu 5%. 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 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ansible | OpenTofu | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 30K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 OpenTofu if
- You want the OpenTofu feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and OpenTofu 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 OpenTofu
OpenTofu is an open source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that enables users to define and manage cloud and on premises infrastructure using declarative configuration files. It lives in the cloud infrastructure management ecosystem and serves as a community driven fork of Terraform, maintaining compatibility with Terraform’s configuration language and provider ecosystem while operating under the MPL 2.0 license.
read the full OpenTofu 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 OpenTofu more popular?
ansible has 70,740 GitHub stars and OpenTofu has 30,232. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and OpenTofu free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OpenTofu under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and OpenTofu?
ansible is written in Python and OpenTofu 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 OpenTofu?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,740 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenTofu if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.