head to head · open source
compose vs viewflow
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars, 5,817 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. viewflow has 2,874 stars, 413 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 1,228% (38,175 vs 2,874 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; viewflow is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, viewflow 14%. 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 | viewflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 413 |
| 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 viewflow if
- You want the viewflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and viewflow 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 viewflow
Viewflow is reusable workflow library for Django. It lives in Python and Django ecosystem, category Infrastructure & Operations / Orchestration & Scheduling. It targets low code business application building. It gives ready made components for user management, workflows, and reporting. It ships as one package. Each part works on its own, but parts also work together. Project homepage is viewflow.io. Concrete problem: business applications need process state, form handling, reporting, and integration with existing systems. Custom Django code often repeats this plumbing. Viewflow provides base classes, BPMN process…
read the full viewflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or viewflow more popular?
compose has 38,175 GitHub stars and viewflow has 2,874. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and viewflow free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and viewflow under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and viewflow?
compose is written in Go and viewflow 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 viewflow?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,175 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose viewflow if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.