actions-runner-controllervsZealot
Two self-hosted CI/CD projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| actions-runner-controller | Zealot | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 71/100 | 55/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 28 in CI/CD | #17 of 28 in CI/CD |
| GitHub stars | 6 623 | 1 368 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +105 | +1 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 6 | 3 |
| Latest release | gha-runner-scale-set-0.15.1 · 23 Oct 2026 | 6.2.2 · 25 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Ruby |
Which one should you pick?
actions-runner-controller scores 71/100 against 55/100 for Zealot, so it is the safer default.
actions-runner-controller ships more often: 6 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for Zealot.
If you want the quickest setup, Zealot is easier to run; actions-runner-controller needs more configuration.
actions-runner-controller is growing faster right now (+105 stars in 30 days).
actions-runner-controller details →Zealot details →All CI/CD projects →