actions-runner-controllervsStartOS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| actions-runner-controller | StartOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 61/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #5 of 22 in Home Server |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 | 1 994 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 | +9 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 23 |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | start-os/v0.4.0.4 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Rust |
Which one should you pick?
actions-runner-controller scores 71/100 against 61/100 for StartOS, so it is the safer default.
StartOS ships more often: 23 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.
If you want the quickest setup, StartOS is easier to run; actions-runner-controller needs more configuration.
actions-runner-controller is growing faster right now (+93 stars in 30 days).
actions-runner-controller details →StartOS details →