head to head · open source
ansible vs PatrowlManager
ansible has 70,719 GitHub stars, 24,336 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PatrowlManager has 639 stars, 111 forks, 257 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. ansible leads on adoption by 10,967% (70,719 vs 639 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; PatrowlManager is written in HTML under AGPL-3.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, PatrowlManager 17%. 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 | PatrowlManager | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 639 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-03-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 111 |
| 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 PatrowlManager if
- You want the PatrowlManager feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and PatrowlManager 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 PatrowlManager
PatrowlManager is the Django front end of PatrOwl, a free and open source platform for orchestrating security operations, built for security teams that need to manage assets, run scans through PatrowlEngines, aggregate the results, relay alerts to third parties, and produce reports and dashboards from one web interface and one JSON API.
read the full PatrowlManager overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or PatrowlManager more popular?
ansible has 70,719 GitHub stars and PatrowlManager has 639. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and PatrowlManager free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and PatrowlManager under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and PatrowlManager?
ansible is written in Python and PatrowlManager in HTML. 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 PatrowlManager?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,719 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PatrowlManager if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.