# actions-runner-controller vs umbrelOS

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

| | actions-runner-controller | umbrelOS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 73/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #7 of 28 in CI/CD | #2 of 22 in Home Server |
| GitHub stars | 6 610 | 12 474 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +93 | +439 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 7 ✓ |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 ✓ | 2.0.0 · 22 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

umbrelOS scores 73/100 against 71/100 for actions-runner-controller, so it is the safer default.

umbrelOS ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 6 for actions-runner-controller.

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

umbrelOS is growing faster right now (+439 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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