head to head · open source
Docker vs spug
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. spug has 11,076 stars, 2,196 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 551% (72,113 vs 11,076 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; spug is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, spug 20%. 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 | spug | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 11K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 2.2K |
| 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 spug if
- You want the spug feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and spug 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 spug
Spug is a lightweight, agent free automatic operations and maintenance platform for small and medium sized enterprises, combining host management, batch execution, a browser terminal, file management, application release, pipelines, task planning, a configuration center, monitoring, and alerting in one AGPL 3.0 open source system.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or spug more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and spug has 11,076. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and spug free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and spug under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and spug?
Docker is written in Go and spug in JavaScript. 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 spug?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose spug if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.