head to head · open source
kubernetes vs crossplane
kubernetes has 128,645 GitHub stars, 45,747 forks, 3,072 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. crossplane has 12,222 stars, 1,290 forks, 194 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. kubernetes leads on adoption by 953% (128,645 vs 12,222 stars). kubernetes is written in Go under Apache-2.0; crossplane is written in Go under Apache-2.0. kubernetes has attracted 36% as many forks as stars, crossplane 11%. kubernetes was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (cncf, containers, kubernetes), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | crossplane | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 129K | ★ 12K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 46K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 crossplane if
- You want the crossplane feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and crossplane 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 crossplane
Crossplane is a framework for building cloud native control planes without needing to write code. It has a highly extensible backend that enables you to build a control plane that can orchestrate applications and infrastructure no matter where they run, and a highly configurable frontend that puts you in control of the schema of the declarative API it offers. Crossplane is a [Cloud Native Computing Foundation][cncf] project. Get Started Crossplane's [Get Started Docs] covers install and resource quickstarts. Releases Currently maintained releases, as well as the next few upcoming releases are listed below. For…
read the full crossplane overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is kubernetes or crossplane more popular?
kubernetes has 128,645 GitHub stars and crossplane has 12,222. kubernetes has the larger community by that measure.
Are kubernetes and crossplane free?
Both are open source. kubernetes is licensed under Apache-2.0 and crossplane under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kubernetes and crossplane?
kubernetes is written in Go and crossplane in Go. 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 crossplane?
Choose kubernetes if you want the larger community (128,645 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose crossplane if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.