head to head · open source
ansible vs werf
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars, 24,333 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. werf has 4,721 stars, 239 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ansible leads on adoption by 1,398% (70,721 vs 4,721 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; werf is written in Go under Apache-2.0. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, werf 5%. werf 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 | werf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 239 |
| 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 werf if
- You want the werf 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 werf 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 werf
werf is a CNCF Sandbox command line tool, written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, that implements full cycle CI/CD to Kubernetes for teams that already build container images and deploy with Helm but want one tool to carry an application from build through deploy, release artifacts and container registry cleanup.
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or werf more popular?
ansible has 70,721 GitHub stars and werf has 4,721. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and werf free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and werf under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and werf?
ansible is written in Python and werf 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 werf?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (70,721 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose werf if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.