head to head · open source
kubernetes vs aws-cdk
kubernetes has 128,842 GitHub stars, 45,758 forks, 3,072 open issues and last shipped yesterday. aws-cdk has 12,958 stars, 4,665 forks, 2,863 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kubernetes leads on adoption by 894% (128,842 vs 12,958 stars). kubernetes is written in Go under Apache-2.0; aws-cdk is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. kubernetes has attracted 36% as many forks as stars, aws-cdk 36%. kubernetes 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
| kubernetes | aws-cdk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 129K | ★ 13K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 46K | ⑂ 4.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kubernetes if
- You weight community size — 129K 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 aws-cdk if
- You want the aws-cdk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and aws-cdk fits your workflow better
About kubernetes
Kubernetes (K8s) Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is an open source system for managing [containerized applications] across multiple hosts. It provides basic mechanisms for the deployment, maintenance, and scaling of applications. Kubernetes builds upon a decade and a half of experience at Google running production workloads at scale using a system called [Borg], combined with best of breed ideas and practices from the community. Kubernetes is hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ([CNCF]). If your company wants to help shape the evolution of technologies that are container packaged, dynamically…
read the full kubernetes overview →
About aws-cdk
AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) The AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) is an open source software development framework to define cloud infrastructure in code and provision it through AWS CloudFormation. It offers a high level object oriented abstraction to define AWS resources imperatively using the power of modern programming languages. Using the CDK’s library of infrastructure constructs, you can easily encapsulate AWS best practices in your infrastructure definition and share it without worrying about boilerplate logic. The CDK is available in the following languages: JavaScript, TypeScript (Node.js =…
read the full aws-cdk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is kubernetes or aws-cdk more popular?
kubernetes has 128,842 GitHub stars and aws-cdk has 12,958. kubernetes has the larger community by that measure.
Are kubernetes and aws-cdk free?
Both are open source. kubernetes is licensed under Apache-2.0 and aws-cdk under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kubernetes and aws-cdk?
kubernetes is written in Go and aws-cdk in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, kubernetes or aws-cdk?
Choose kubernetes if you want the larger community (128,842 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose aws-cdk if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.