head to head · open source
kubernetes vs OpenStack
kubernetes has 127,843 GitHub stars, 44,692 forks, 3,072 open issues and last shipped today. OpenStack has 6,037 stars, 1,624 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped today. kubernetes leads on adoption by 2,018% (127,843 vs 6,037 stars). kubernetes is written in Go under Apache-2.0; OpenStack is written in Python under Apache-2.0. kubernetes has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, OpenStack 27%. OpenStack 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 | OpenStack | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 128K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 45K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kubernetes if
- You weight community size — 128K 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 OpenStack if
- You want the OpenStack 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 OpenStack fits your workflow better
About kubernetes
Kubernetes (K8s) is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed system for managing containerized applications across multiple hosts, hosted by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and aimed at teams who deploy, maintain and scale container packaged and microservices oriented workloads in production.
read the full kubernetes overview →
About OpenStack
OpenStack is a collection of interoperable components that can be deployed together to provide computing, networking and storage resources. Those infrastructure resources are then exposed to end users through programmable APIs, so that capacity can be requested and managed by software rather than by hand. The project lives in the Python ecosystem and is released under the Apache 2.0 license, with development coordinated at opendev.org and documentation hosted at openstack.org.
read the full OpenStack overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is kubernetes or OpenStack more popular?
kubernetes has 127,843 GitHub stars and OpenStack has 6,037. kubernetes has the larger community by that measure.
Are kubernetes and OpenStack free?
Both are open source. kubernetes is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenStack under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kubernetes and OpenStack?
kubernetes is written in Go and OpenStack 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, kubernetes or OpenStack?
Choose kubernetes if you want the larger community (127,843 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenStack if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.