head to head · open source
compose vs loonflow
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. loonflow has 2,095 stars, 706 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 1,741% (38,573 vs 2,095 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; loonflow is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, loonflow 34%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| compose | loonflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 706 |
| 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 loonflow if
- You want the loonflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and loonflow 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 loonflow
Loonflow 3.0 Intelligent and Visual Process Automation System Dedicated to providing enterprise grade unified workflow solutions English 简体中文 Loonflow 3.0 A Fresh Start Loonflow is an open source process automation platform developed based on Django. After multiple versions of iteration and refactoring, we proudly present Loonflow 3.0 a version that achieves a qualitative leap in visualization, flexibility, and scalability. The core of version 3.0 is "making complex business processes simple and visual, making personalized customization needs within reach." Not only have we rebuilt the process and form…
read the full loonflow 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 loonflow more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and loonflow has 2,095. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and loonflow free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and loonflow under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and loonflow?
compose is written in Go and loonflow 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 loonflow?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose loonflow if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.