head to head · open source
argo-cd vs headlamp
argo-cd has 24,517 GitHub stars, 8,116 forks, 4,362 open issues and last shipped yesterday. headlamp has 7,553 stars, 1,201 forks, 1,422 open issues and last shipped yesterday. argo-cd leads on adoption by 225% (24,517 vs 7,553 stars). argo-cd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; headlamp is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. argo-cd has attracted 33% as many forks as stars, headlamp 16%. argo-cd was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (devops), 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
| argo-cd | headlamp | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 7.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.1K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick argo-cd if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick headlamp if
- You want the headlamp feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and headlamp fits your workflow better
About argo-cd
Releases: Code: Social: Argo CD Declarative Continuous Delivery for Kubernetes What is Argo CD? Argo CD is a declarative GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. Why Argo CD? 1. Application definitions, configurations, and environments should be declarative and version controlled. 1. Application deployment and lifecycle management should be automated, auditable, and easy to understand. Who uses Argo CD? Official Argo CD user list Documentation To learn more about Argo CD go to the complete documentation. Check live demo at Community Contribution, Discussion and Support You can reach the Argo CD community…
read the full argo-cd overview →
About headlamp
NOTICE: We have recently moved the project under the Kubernetes SIG UI (and the repo under the kubernetes sigs org). Container images are still at ghcr.io. Please bear with us while we may experience some broken links. Headlamp is an easy to use and extensible Kubernetes web UI. Headlamp was created to blend the traditional feature set of other web UIs/dashboards (i.e., to list and view resources) with added functionality. Features Vendor independent / generic Kubernetes UI Works in cluster, or locally as a desktop app Multi cluster Extensible through plugins UI controls reflecting user roles (no deletion/update…
read the full headlamp overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is argo-cd or headlamp more popular?
argo-cd has 24,517 GitHub stars and headlamp has 7,553. argo-cd has the larger community by that measure.
Are argo-cd and headlamp free?
Both are open source. argo-cd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and headlamp under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between argo-cd and headlamp?
argo-cd is written in Go and headlamp 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, argo-cd or headlamp?
Choose argo-cd if you want the larger community (24,517 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose headlamp if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.