head to head · open source
compose vs aperture
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. aperture has 732 stars, 37 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 5,170% (38,573 vs 732 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; aperture is written in Go under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, aperture 5%. compose 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
| compose | aperture | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 732 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 37 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 39K 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 aperture if
- You want the aperture feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and aperture fits your workflow better
About compose
Table of Contents Docker Compose Where to get Docker Compose + Windows and macOS + Linux Quick Start Contributing Legacy Docker Compose Docker Compose is a tool for running multi container applications on Docker defined using the Compose file format. A Compose file is used to define how one or more containers that make up your application are configured. Once you have a Compose file, you can create and start your application with a single command: docker compose up . Note : About Docker Swarm Docker Swarm used to rely on the legacy compose file format but did not adopt the compose specification so is missing…
read the full compose overview →
About aperture
🥷 FluxNinja Aperture Aperture is a distributed load management platform designed for rate limiting, caching, and prioritizing requests in cloud applications. Built upon a foundation of distributed counters, observability, and a global control plane, it provides a comprehensive suite of load management capabilities. These capabilities enhance the reliability and performance of cloud applications, while also optimizing cost and resource utilization. Integrating Aperture in your application through SDKs is a simple 3 step process: Define labels : Define labels to identify users, entities, or features within your…
read the full aperture overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or aperture more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and aperture has 732. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and aperture free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and aperture under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and aperture?
compose is written in Go and aperture 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, compose or aperture?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose aperture if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.