# actions-runner-controller vs Portainer

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

| | actions-runner-controller | Portainer |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 77/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #1 of 44 in Container Management |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 | 38 737 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 | +188 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 21 ✓ |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.45.3 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Zlib |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Portainer scores 77/100 against 71/100 for actions-runner-controller, so it is the safer default.

Portainer ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.

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

Portainer is growing faster right now (+188 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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