head to head · open source
Kestra vs cloudstack
Kestra has 28,181 GitHub stars, 3,005 forks, 713 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cloudstack has 3,075 stars, 1,385 forks, 1,048 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kestra leads on adoption by 816% (28,181 vs 3,075 stars). Kestra is written in Java under Apache-2.0; cloudstack is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Kestra has attracted 11% 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.
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
| Kestra | cloudstack | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kestra if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- 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 Kestra
Kestra is an open source, event driven orchestration platform for data, AI, and infrastructure workflows. It operates in the Java based ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0. The project provides a unified interface for both scheduled and real time automation, supporting declarative workflow definitions in YAML while also offering visual and AI assisted authoring.
read the full Kestra 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 Kestra or cloudstack more popular?
Kestra has 28,181 GitHub stars and cloudstack has 3,075. Kestra has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kestra and cloudstack free?
Both are open source. Kestra is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cloudstack under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kestra and cloudstack?
Kestra is written in Java 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, Kestra or cloudstack?
Choose Kestra if you want the larger community (28,181 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.