head to head · open source
Docker vs certimate
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. certimate has 9,317 stars, 902 forks, 51 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docker leads on adoption by 674% (72,113 vs 9,317 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; certimate is written in Go under MIT. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, certimate 10%. Docker 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
| Docker | certimate | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 902 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docker if
- You weight community size — 72K 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 certimate if
- You want the certimate feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and certimate fits your workflow better
About Docker
Docker, published here as the Moby Project, is the open source collection of container toolkit components and the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, built for engineers, integrators and enthusiasts who want to modify, hack and build on container code rather than buy a commercially supported product.
read the full Docker overview →
About certimate
Certimate is an open source, MIT licensed, self hosted ACME client that automates the full lifecycle of SSL/TLS certificates — issuance, deployment, renewal, and monitoring — through a visual workflow, and it is built for DevOps engineers and infrastructure teams who manage certificates across many domains, registrars, and hosting providers.
read the full certimate overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or certimate more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and certimate has 9,317. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and certimate free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and certimate under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and certimate?
Docker is written in Go and certimate in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docker or certimate?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose certimate if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.