head to head · open source
etcd vs mdserver-web
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars, 10,506 forks, 351 open issues and last shipped today. mdserver-web has 4,520 stars, 717 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. etcd leads on adoption by 1,056% (52,270 vs 4,520 stars). etcd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mdserver-web is written in Python under Apache-2.0. etcd has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, mdserver-web 16%. etcd 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
| etcd | mdserver-web | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 717 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick etcd if
- You weight community size — 52K 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 mdserver-web if
- You want the mdserver-web 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 mdserver-web fits your workflow better
About etcd
etcd is an Apache 2.0 licensed, Go written distributed key value store that holds the most critical data of a distributed system in a Raft replicated log, aimed at the platform and infrastructure engineers who must keep that control plane data consistent and available.
About mdserver-web
mdserver web is a simple, Apache 2.0 licensed Linux server control panel written in Python that gives administrators a browser based way to manage websites, databases and the software stack behind them.
read the full mdserver-web overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etcd or mdserver-web more popular?
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars and mdserver-web has 4,520. etcd has the larger community by that measure.
Are etcd and mdserver-web free?
Both are open source. etcd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mdserver-web under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etcd and mdserver-web?
etcd is written in Go and mdserver-web 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, etcd or mdserver-web?
Choose etcd if you want the larger community (52,270 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mdserver-web if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.