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Open source self-hosting solutions

Software for easy installation, management and configuration of self-hosted services and applications. Repoly tracks 28 open-source self-hosting solutions tools, each scored nightly from its repository activity and ranked by that score alone. Umbrel leads at 96/100 with 261 commits in the last 90 days and 12k stars, followed by Cosmos (95) and HomeButler (90). 12 of the 28 score 70 or above, 8 publish a Docker image, and the median health is 61. GPL-3.0 is the most common licence, carried by 7 of them. Between them they stand in for Cloudron Cloud and Heroku. The score weighs commits in the last 90 days, release recency, stars, archive status and Docker support; a low number means low measurable activity, not low quality, so a finished, stable tool can legitimately sit lower down.

updated Oct 2026 28 tools ★ 65k stars 8 with Docker median 61

Best for…

  • Most starred

    Umbrel

    12,482 stars on GitHub, the largest community in the category.

  • Most active

    StartOS

    567 commits in the last 90 days, the fastest-moving codebase here.

  • Most permissive

    HomeButler

    MIT licence with health 90/100: the strongest option if you need to embed or fork commercially.

Ranked by health

Table view

How the self-hosting platform tools compare

Umbrel edges Cosmos 96 to 95, and most of the difference is stars: 12k stars against 6.2k stars.

The most recent release is Websoft9 2.4.4, published today. Cloudron, OpenMediaVault, FreedomBox and 4 more publish no tagged releases, which costs up to 25 of the 100 points. Sandstorm scores under 40, so check recent activity before adopting it. By stack, Shell (12), Go (4) and Python (3) are the most common. HomeButler, DockSTARTer, StartOS and 4 more are permissively licensed; DietPi, YunoHost, Websoft9 and 11 more are copyleft. Umbrel, Cosmos, Cloudron and 4 more are source-available rather than open source, which limits commercial reuse. Easypanel, Axigen, Poste.io and 3 more are not hosted on a forge Repoly can read, so they have no measured score yet.

Self-hosting Solutions: common questions

What is the best open source self-hosting platform tool?

By Repoly's GitHub health score, Umbrel at 96/100 (261 commits in 90 days, 2.0.0 from 1 month ago). Cosmos is next at 95; Umbrel's lead comes mostly from stars. The score measures maintenance, not features, so shortlist the top few and try them.

Which self-hosting platform tools are the most actively developed?

StartOS (567 commits in 90 days), Cloudron (289 commits in 90 days) and DietPi (262 commits in 90 days). Commit activity is 35 of the 100 health points, the largest single term.

Which self-hosting platform tools can I run in Docker?

8 of 28 publish a Docker image or Compose file, led by Umbrel, Cosmos, HomeButler, DockSTARTer, HomelabOS and 3 more.

Which self-hosting platform tools have a permissive licence?

7 of 28: HomeButler (MIT), DockSTARTer (MIT), StartOS (MIT), HomelabOS (MIT), Dropserver (Apache-2.0) and 2 more. 14 are copyleft.

Which paid products can open source self-hosting platform tools replace?

Cloudron Cloud (Cosmos ranks highest here) and Heroku (Cosmos ranks highest here).