head to head · open source
compose vs PatrowlManager
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars, 5,818 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. PatrowlManager has 639 stars, 111 forks, 257 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 5,875% (38,178 vs 639 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; PatrowlManager is written in HTML under AGPL-3.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, PatrowlManager 17%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
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Side by side
| compose | PatrowlManager | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 639 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-03-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 111 |
| 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 PatrowlManager if
- You want the PatrowlManager feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and PatrowlManager 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 PatrowlManager
PatrowlManager is the Django front end of PatrOwl, a free and open source platform for orchestrating security operations, built for security teams that need to manage assets, run scans through PatrowlEngines, aggregate the results, relay alerts to third parties, and produce reports and dashboards from one web interface and one JSON API.
read the full PatrowlManager overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or PatrowlManager more popular?
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars and PatrowlManager has 639. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and PatrowlManager free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PatrowlManager under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and PatrowlManager?
compose is written in Go and PatrowlManager in HTML. 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 PatrowlManager?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,178 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose PatrowlManager if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.