SHSelfHostIndex

Portainer CE 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?
PO Portainer CE Lightweight management UI for Docker and Kubernetes VS CO Cosmos Server Self-hosted dashboard, app store, and reverse proxy
FeaturePortainer CECosmos Server
CategoryDashboards & StartpagesDashboards & Startpages
LicenseZlibApache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, helmdocker
GitHub stars★ 38,184★ 6,093
First released20162023
ReplacesRancher, Docker DesktopGoogle homepage

Why pick each one

Choose Portainer CE if…

  • Very beginner-friendly
  • Broad orchestrator support
Portainer CE details

Choose Cosmos Server if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Portainer CE or Cosmos Server 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 Portainer CE and Cosmos Server free and open-source?

Yes. Portainer CE is licensed under Zlib and Cosmos Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Portainer CE and Cosmos Server with Docker?

Portainer CE: yes. Cosmos Server: yes.

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