head to head · open source
CasaOS vs Cosmos Server
CasaOS has 37,521 GitHub stars, 2,209 forks, 833 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Cosmos Server has 6,190 stars, 252 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. CasaOS leads on adoption by 506% (37,521 vs 6,190 stars). CasaOS is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Cosmos Server is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. CasaOS has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Cosmos Server 4%. Cosmos Server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (self-hosted), 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
| CasaOS | Cosmos Server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 252 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick CasaOS if
- You weight community size — 38K 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 Cosmos Server if
- You want the Cosmos Server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Cosmos Server fits your workflow better
About CasaOS
CasaOS Your Personal Cloud Connect with the community, establish autonomy, reduce the cost of SaaS, and MAXIMIZE the potential for a personalized copilot. Website Demo GitHub Why do you need Personal Cloud? In 2020, the team noticed three important trends: The cost of computing power and storage was decreasing fast. A part of cloud computing was moving towards edge computing. The issue of consumer data asset ownership and attribution had been ignored. Based on these trends, the team proposed a thought experiment internally: what if personal clouds were available under $100 in next five years? This personal cloud…
read the full CasaOS overview →
About Cosmos Server
Thanks to the sponsors: ☁️ Cosmos is the most secure and easy way to self host a Home Server. It acts as a secure gateway to your application, as well as a server manager. It aims to solve the increasingly worrying problem of vulnerable self hosted applications and personal servers. Whether you have a server , a NAS , or a Raspberry Pi with applications such as Plex , HomeAssistant or even a blog, Cosmos is the perfect solution to run and secure them all. Simply install Cosmos on your server and connect to your applications through it to enjoy built in security and robustness for all your services, right out of…
read the full Cosmos Server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CasaOS or Cosmos Server more popular?
CasaOS has 37,521 GitHub stars and Cosmos Server has 6,190. CasaOS has the larger community by that measure.
Are CasaOS and Cosmos Server free?
Both are open source. CasaOS is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Cosmos Server has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between CasaOS and Cosmos Server?
CasaOS is written in Go and Cosmos Server 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, CasaOS or Cosmos Server?
Choose CasaOS if you want the larger community (37,521 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Cosmos Server if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.