Homarr vs Portainer CE
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?
Homarr
Customizable dashboard for your self-hosted services
VS
Portainer CE
Lightweight management UI for Docker and Kubernetes
| Feature | Homarr | Portainer CE |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Zlib |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,499 | ★ 38,184 |
| First released | 2022 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Rancher, Docker Desktop |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Homarr or Portainer CE better?
Neither is universally better. Portainer CE has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Homarr and Portainer CE free and open-source?
Yes. Homarr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Portainer CE under Zlib. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Homarr and Portainer CE with Docker?
Homarr: yes. Portainer CE: yes.