head to head · open source
Docker vs devspace
Docker has 72,238 GitHub stars, 19,309 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. devspace has 5,225 stars, 429 forks, 92 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 1,283% (72,238 vs 5,225 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; devspace is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, devspace 8%. 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 | devspace | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 429 |
| 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 devspace if
- You want the devspace feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and devspace fits your workflow better
About Docker
The Moby Project ================ Moby is an open source project created by Docker to enable and accelerate software containerization. It provides a "Lego set" of toolkit components, the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, and a place for all container enthusiasts and professionals to experiment and exchange ideas. Components include container build tools, a container registry, orchestration tools, a runtime and more, and these can be used as building blocks in conjunction with other tools and projects. Principles Moby is an open project guided by strong principles, aiming to be…
read the full Docker overview →
About devspace
Website • Quickstart • Documentation • Blog • Twitter Client Only Developer Tool for Cloud Native Development with Kubernetes Build, test and debug applications directly inside Kubernetes Develop with hot reloading : updates your running containers without rebuilding images or restarting containers Unify deployment workflows within your team and across dev, staging and production Automate repetitive tasks for image building and deployment ⭐️ Do you like DevSpace? Support the project with a star ⭐️ DevSpace was created by Loft Labs and is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) sandbox project. Contents Why…
read the full devspace overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or devspace more popular?
Docker has 72,238 GitHub stars and devspace has 5,225. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and devspace free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and devspace under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and devspace?
Docker is written in Go and devspace 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 devspace?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,238 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose devspace if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.