head to head · open source
compose vs cloudstack
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars, 5,825 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cloudstack has 3,075 stars, 1,385 forks, 1,048 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 1,142% (38,195 vs 3,075 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; cloudstack is written in Java under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, cloudstack 45%. cloudstack was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (orchestration), 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
| compose | cloudstack | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose 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 cloudstack if
- You want the cloudstack feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and cloudstack fits your workflow better
About compose
Docker Compose is an Apache 2.0 licensed Go tool that defines and runs multi container applications on Docker from a single Compose file, aimed at developers and operators who need several containers to start together as one isolated application.
read the full compose overview →
About cloudstack
Apache CloudStack is an open source Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud computing platform, written primarily in Java and released under the Apache 2.0 licence, that deploys and manages large networks of virtual machines for service providers, enterprises, and operators who need a cloud they control.
read the full cloudstack overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or cloudstack more popular?
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars and cloudstack has 3,075. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and cloudstack free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cloudstack under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and cloudstack?
compose is written in Go and cloudstack in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, compose or cloudstack?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,195 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cloudstack if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.