head to head · open source
Docker vs OpenTofu
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenTofu has 30,232 stars, 1,371 forks, 320 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 139% (72,113 vs 30,232 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; OpenTofu is written in Go under MPL-2.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, OpenTofu 5%. Docker 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 | OpenTofu | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 30K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 OpenTofu if
- You want the OpenTofu feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and OpenTofu fits your workflow better
About Docker
Docker, published here as the Moby Project, is the open source collection of container toolkit components and the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, built for engineers, integrators and enthusiasts who want to modify, hack and build on container code rather than buy a commercially supported product.
read the full Docker overview →
About OpenTofu
OpenTofu is an open source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that enables users to define and manage cloud and on premises infrastructure using declarative configuration files. It lives in the cloud infrastructure management ecosystem and serves as a community driven fork of Terraform, maintaining compatibility with Terraform’s configuration language and provider ecosystem while operating under the MPL 2.0 license.
read the full OpenTofu overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or OpenTofu more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and OpenTofu has 30,232. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and OpenTofu free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenTofu under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and OpenTofu?
Docker is written in Go and OpenTofu 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, Docker or OpenTofu?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenTofu if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.