Agola vs Soft Serve
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted git hosting & forges options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Agola
CI/CD redefined for cloud-native workflows
VS
Soft Serve
Self-hostable Git server for the command line
| Feature | Agola | Soft Serve |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Git Hosting & Forges | Git Hosting & Forges |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,622 | ★ 7,136 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Drone, GitHub Actions | GitHub |
Why pick each one
Choose Agola if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
Choose Soft Serve if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 7.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Agola or Soft Serve better?
Soft Serve is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Agola if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Agola and Soft Serve free and open-source?
Yes. Agola is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Soft Serve under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Agola and Soft Serve with Docker?
Agola: yes. Soft Serve: yes.