head to head · open source
compose vs kubero
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars, 5,817 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kubero has 4,419 stars, 213 forks, 128 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 764% (38,175 vs 4,419 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; kubero is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, kubero 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 | kubero | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 4.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 213 |
| 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 kubero if
- You want the kubero feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and kubero 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 kubero
Kubero is a self hosted Platform as a Service for the Kubernetes ecosystem. It is written in TypeScript and released under the GPL 3.0 license. It gives developers a web based control layer for deploying applications on Kubernetes without specialized platform knowledge. It follows twelve factor principles and can run services from existing container images or source code.
read the full kubero overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or kubero more popular?
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars and kubero has 4,419. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and kubero free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and kubero under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and kubero?
compose is written in Go and kubero in TypeScript. 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 kubero?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,175 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose kubero if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.