head to head · open source
Apache Superset vs ara
Apache Superset has 74,816 GitHub stars, 18,314 forks, 588 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ara has 2,020 stars, 180 forks, 133 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Apache Superset leads on adoption by 3,604% (74,816 vs 2,020 stars). Apache Superset is written in Python under Apache-2.0; ara is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Apache Superset has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, ara 9%. Apache Superset 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
| Apache Superset | ara | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 75K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 18K | ⑂ 180 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Apache Superset if
- You weight community size — 75K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ara if
- You want the ara feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ara fits your workflow better
About Apache Superset
Apache Superset is an open source business intelligence platform that enables self serve data exploration and dashboard creation. It runs as a web application and provides tools for analysts and business users to visualize and analyze data without writing complex code, while also offering advanced capabilities for data engineers and developers. Superset lives in the Apache Software Foundation ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0.
read the full Apache Superset overview →
About ara
ARA Records Ansible is a Python project that records Ansible runs and presents results for reporting and troubleshooting. It is a recursive acronym focused on simplicity, and it lives in the Ansible ecosystem while using Django, Django REST Framework, a web interface, and an API.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Superset or ara more popular?
Apache Superset has 74,816 GitHub stars and ara has 2,020. Apache Superset has the larger community by that measure.
Are Apache Superset and ara free?
Both are open source. Apache Superset is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ara under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Apache Superset and ara?
Apache Superset is written in Python and ara in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Apache Superset or ara?
Choose Apache Superset if you want the larger community (74,816 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ara if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.