head to head · open source
Docker vs jenkins
Docker has 72,238 GitHub stars, 19,309 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. jenkins has 26,724 stars, 9,820 forks, 3,610 open issues and last shipped today. Docker leads on adoption by 170% (72,238 vs 26,724 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; jenkins is written in Java under MIT. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, jenkins 37%. jenkins 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 | jenkins | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 27K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 9.8K |
| 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 jenkins if
- You want the jenkins feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and jenkins 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 jenkins
Table of Contents About What to Use Jenkins for and When to Use It Downloads Getting Started (Development) Source Contributing to Jenkins News and Website Governance Adopters License About In a nutshell, Jenkins is the leading open source automation server. Built with Java, it provides over 2,000 plugins to support automating virtually anything, so that humans can spend their time doing things machines cannot. What to Use Jenkins for and When to Use It Use Jenkins to automate your development workflow, so you can focus on work that matters most. Jenkins is commonly used for: Building projects Running tests to…
read the full jenkins overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or jenkins more popular?
Docker has 72,238 GitHub stars and jenkins has 26,724. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and jenkins free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and jenkins under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and jenkins?
Docker is written in Go and jenkins in Java. 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 jenkins?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,238 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose jenkins if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.