head to head · open source
Signal vs helm-secrets
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars, 6,933 forks, 498 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. helm-secrets has 2,037 stars, 156 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Signal leads on adoption by 1,352% (29,568 vs 2,037 stars). Signal is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0; helm-secrets is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. Signal has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, helm-secrets 8%. helm-secrets 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
| Signal | helm-secrets | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Kotlin | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 156 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Signal if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick helm-secrets if
- You want the helm-secrets feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and helm-secrets fits your workflow better
About Signal
Signal Android Signal is a simple, powerful, and secure messenger that uses your phone's data connection (WiFi/4G/5G) to communicate securely. Millions of people use Signal every day for free and instantaneous communication anywhere in the world. Send and receive high fidelity messages, participate in HD voice/video calls, and explore a growing set of new features that help you stay connected. Signal’s advanced privacy preserving technology is always enabled, so you can focus on sharing the moments that matter with the people who matter to you. Currently available on the Play Store and signal.org. Also available…
read the full Signal overview →
About helm-secrets
helm secrets ⭐ Don't forget to star this repository! ⭐ About helm secrets is a Helm plugin to decrypt encrypted Helm value files on the fly. Use sops to encrypt value files and store them in git. Store your secrets in a cloud native secret manager like AWS SecretManager, Azure KeyVault or HashiCorp Vault and inject them inside value files or templates. Use helm secret in your favorite deployment tool or GitOps Operator like ArgoCD Who’s actually using helm secrets? If you are using helm secrets in your company or organization, we would like to invite you to create a PR to add your information to this file…
read the full helm-secrets overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Signal or helm-secrets more popular?
Signal has 29,568 GitHub stars and helm-secrets has 2,037. Signal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Signal and helm-secrets free?
Both are open source. Signal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and helm-secrets under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Signal and helm-secrets?
Signal is written in Kotlin and helm-secrets in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Signal or helm-secrets?
Choose Signal if you want the larger community (29,568 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose helm-secrets if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.