# actions-runner-controller vs MCSManager

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | actions-runner-controller | MCSManager |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 ✓ | 68/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #8 of 62 in Game Servers |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 ✓ | 5 005 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 ✓ | +35 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 20 ✓ |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | v10.22.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

actions-runner-controller scores 71/100 against 68/100 for MCSManager, so it is the safer default.

MCSManager ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.

If you want the quickest setup, MCSManager is easier to run; actions-runner-controller needs more configuration.

actions-runner-controller is growing faster right now (+93 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [actions-runner-controller](https://selfhost.directory/project/actions-runner-controller) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/actions-runner-controller.md)
- [MCSManager](https://selfhost.directory/project/mcsmanager) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mcsmanager.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/actions-runner-controller-vs-mcsmanager