head to head · open source
Docker vs OpenStack
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenStack has 6,037 stars, 1,624 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped today. Docker leads on adoption by 1,095% (72,113 vs 6,037 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; OpenStack is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, OpenStack 27%. OpenStack 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 | OpenStack | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 OpenStack if
- You want the OpenStack feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and OpenStack 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 OpenStack
OpenStack is a collection of interoperable components that can be deployed together to provide computing, networking and storage resources. Those infrastructure resources are then exposed to end users through programmable APIs, so that capacity can be requested and managed by software rather than by hand. The project lives in the Python ecosystem and is released under the Apache 2.0 license, with development coordinated at opendev.org and documentation hosted at openstack.org.
read the full OpenStack overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or OpenStack more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and OpenStack has 6,037. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and OpenStack free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenStack under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and OpenStack?
Docker is written in Go and OpenStack 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, Docker or OpenStack?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenStack if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.