head to head · open source
compose vs ansible-role-kubernetes
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars, 5,818 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ansible-role-kubernetes has 627 stars, 281 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 5,989% (38,178 vs 627 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; ansible-role-kubernetes is written in Jinja under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, ansible-role-kubernetes 45%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (docker, 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.
← all 13541 open source comparisons
Side by side
| compose | ansible-role-kubernetes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 627 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Jinja |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 281 |
| 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 ansible-role-kubernetes if
- You want the ansible-role-kubernetes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Jinja
- You evaluated both and ansible-role-kubernetes 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 ansible-role-kubernetes
ansible role kubernetes is an MIT licensed Ansible role that installs Kubernetes on Linux hosts using kubeadm, aimed at operators who already manage their servers with Ansible and want a repeatable, role based path from bare machines to a working cluster.
read the full ansible-role-kubernetes overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Orchestration & Scheduling projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Orchestration & Scheduling field.
Frequently asked questions
Is compose or ansible-role-kubernetes more popular?
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars and ansible-role-kubernetes has 627. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and ansible-role-kubernetes free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ansible-role-kubernetes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and ansible-role-kubernetes?
compose is written in Go and ansible-role-kubernetes in Jinja. 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 ansible-role-kubernetes?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,178 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ansible-role-kubernetes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.