head to head · open source
compose vs tugtainer
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars, 5,818 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tugtainer has 1,532 stars, 52 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 2,392% (38,178 vs 1,532 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; tugtainer is written in Python under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, tugtainer 3%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docker), 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 | tugtainer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 52 |
| 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 tugtainer if
- You want the tugtainer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and tugtainer 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 tugtainer
Tugtainer is a self hosted app for automating updates of your docker containers Please be aware that the application is distributed as is and is not recommended for use in a production environment. And don't forget about regular backups of important data. Automatic updates are disabled by default. You can enable only what you need. Table of contents: main features deploy private registries custom labels notifications auth api env check and update healthcheck monitoring screenshots contributing security Main features: Web UI with authentication Multiple hosts support Socket proxy support Crontab scheduling Notific…
read the full tugtainer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or tugtainer more popular?
compose has 38,178 GitHub stars and tugtainer has 1,532. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and tugtainer free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tugtainer under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and tugtainer?
compose is written in Go and tugtainer in Python. 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 tugtainer?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,178 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tugtainer if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.