# actions-runner-controller vs PruneMate

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

| | actions-runner-controller | PruneMate |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 ✓ | 46/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #5 of 5 in Docker Management |
| GitHub stars | 6 613 ✓ | 468 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +96 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 10 ✓ |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | V1.3.3 · 15 Feb 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Go | HTML |

## Which one should you pick?

actions-runner-controller scores 71/100 against 46/100 for PruneMate, so it is the safer default.

PruneMate ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.

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

actions-runner-controller is growing faster right now (+96 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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