head to head · open source
compose vs Slickflow
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars, 5,818 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Slickflow has 920 stars, 264 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. compose leads on adoption by 4,050% (38,178 vs 920 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Slickflow is written in C# under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Slickflow 29%. 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 | Slickflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 920 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-06-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 264 |
| 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 Slickflow if
- You want the Slickflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Slickflow 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 Slickflow
Slickflow Current Version: NET8 1. 🤖 AI Powered Workflow Automation SlickFlow: Intelligent Workflow Automation with Large Language Models Slickflow integrates cutting edge Large Language Model (LLM) nodes directly into BPMN workflows, enabling advanced conversational reasoning, RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), image understanding and other AI capabilities as first class workflow steps . This transforms traditional workflow systems into dynamic, AI driven orchestration platforms. 1.1 Native LLM Node Integration Add LLM / RAG / Agent nodes into your process diagrams as easily as traditional service tasks. Orc…
read the full Slickflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or Slickflow more popular?
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars and Slickflow has 920. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and Slickflow free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Slickflow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and Slickflow?
compose is written in Go and Slickflow in C#. 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 Slickflow?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,178 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Slickflow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.