head to head · open source
compose vs earthly
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. earthly has 12,054 stars, 466 forks, 744 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 220% (38,573 vs 12,054 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; earthly is written in Go under MPL-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, earthly 4%. 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 | earthly | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 12K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 466 |
| 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 earthly if
- You want the earthly feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and earthly 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 earthly
Earthly Please note that Earthly is no longer actively maintained. Read more. It’s like Docker for builds 🔁 Repeatable Builds Write builds once, and run them anywhere – on your laptop, remote, and in any CI. ❤️ Super Simple Instantly recognizable syntax – like Dockerfile and Makefile had a baby. 🛠 Compatible with Every Language, Framework, and Build Tool If it runs on Linux, it runs on Earthly. 🏘 Great for Monorepos and Polyrepos Organize your build logic however makes the most sense for your project. 💨 Fast Builds Build caching and parallel execution makes builds fast automatically. ♻️ Reuse, Don't Repeat…
read the full earthly overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or earthly more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and earthly has 12,054. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and earthly free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and earthly under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and earthly?
compose is written in Go and earthly 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 earthly?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose earthly if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.