SHSelfHostIndex

Sampler Dashboard vs Cosmos Server

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
SA Sampler Dashboard Terminal dashboard for visualizing shell command output VS CO Cosmos Server Self-hosted dashboard, app store, and reverse proxy
FeatureSampler DashboardCosmos Server
CategoryDashboards & StartpagesDashboards & Startpages
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 14,727★ 6,093
First released20192023
ReplacesGrafanaGoogle homepage

Why pick each one

Choose Sampler Dashboard if…

  • Runs in a terminal
  • No web stack needed
Sampler Dashboard details

Choose Cosmos Server if…

  • All-in-one server platform
  • Easy app installs
Cosmos Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Sampler Dashboard or Cosmos Server better?

Neither is universally better. Sampler Dashboard has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Sampler Dashboard and Cosmos Server free and open-source?

Yes. Sampler Dashboard is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Cosmos Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Sampler Dashboard and Cosmos Server with Docker?

Sampler Dashboard: check the project docs for container support. Cosmos Server: yes.

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