Closest in API
Spinifex recreates AWS-compatible APIs such as EC2, S3, EBS, VPC, and IAM on your own hardware so the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform keep working. It is a young project with a few hundred stars.
Alternatives / Amazon Web Services
3 open-source alternatives
3 Best Open Source Amazon Web Services Alternatives in 2026
Looking for an open source Amazon Web Services alternative? We compared 3 open source private cloud platforms by license, API compatibility, and maintenance. They let you run your own cloud on bare metal, but none replicates AWS's hundreds of managed services.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
Best Amazon Web Services alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Spinifex | AWS-compatible APIs on your hardware (young) | AGPL-3.0 |
| OpenStack | Mature private cloud at scale | Apache-2.0 |
| Cozystack | Cloud on bare-metal Kubernetes | Apache-2.0 |
How we chose these Amazon Web Services alternatives
We looked for open-source platforms that provide compute, storage, and networking like AWS on hardware you control. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and deployment model in its repository. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Established platforms
OpenStack pools compute, storage, and networking for virtual machines, bare metal, and containers, and runs at very large scale under the OpenInfra Foundation. Cozystack builds a cloud on Kubernetes with APIs for clusters, databases, VMs, and load balancers.
Important: scope
These platforms replace infrastructure services, not AWS's analytics, machine learning, or serverless catalog. Operating them requires strong infrastructure skills.
License details
Spinifex is AGPL-3.0. OpenStack and Cozystack are Apache-2.0.
Maintenance status
All three had commits within days of this update.
Why look for a Amazon Web Services alternative?
AWS is a proprietary public cloud with usage-based pricing and data in Amazon's regions. Running your own cloud gives sovereignty and predictable hardware costs, but you operate the whole stack and give up managed services.
openstack.org
OpenStack is an Apache-2.0 platform that pools compute, storage, and networking for virtual machines, bare metal, and containers, managed through APIs or a dashboard. It runs at large scale and is backed by the OpenInfra Foundation, but it is complex to deploy and operate.
6.1K1.6KApache-2.0Self-hosted
Pricing: Free and open source; commercial distributions exist.
- Proven at very large scale
- Broad service catalog
- Strong foundation and community
- Complex to deploy and run
- Different APIs from AWS
cozystack.io
Cozystack is an Apache-2.0 platform built on Kubernetes that turns bare-metal servers into a cloud with a REST API for Kubernetes clusters, databases, virtual machines, and load balancers. It installs by PXE or ISO and includes built-in monitoring.
2.4K215Apache-2.0Self-hosted
Pricing: Free and open source.
- API-first on Kubernetes
- Managed databases and VMs
- Built-in monitoring
- Requires Kubernetes knowledge
- Much smaller than AWS's service catalog
mulgadc.com
Spinifex is an AGPL-3.0 platform that recreates AWS-compatible APIs such as EC2, S3, EBS, VPC, and IAM on your own hardware, so the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform keep working. It targets sovereign, air-gapped, and edge deployments, and it is a young project with a few hundred stars.
39027AGPL-3.0Self-hosted
Pricing: Free and open source.
- AWS-compatible APIs
- Single-node to cluster and air-gapped setups
- Existing AWS tooling keeps working
- Young project
- Not a full copy of AWS's service catalog
Compare Amazon Web Services alternatives
| Alternative | Type | License | API | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spinifex | Private cloud | AGPL-3.0 | AWS-compatible | Sovereign and edge deployments |
| OpenStack | Private cloud | Apache-2.0 | OpenStack APIs | Large organizations |
| Cozystack | Private cloud | Apache-2.0 | Kubernetes-based | Kubernetes teams |
Which one should you choose?
Want to keep using AWS tooling
Spinifex exposes AWS-compatible APIs so existing SDKs and Terraform keep working.
Want a proven large-scale private cloud
OpenStack pools compute, storage, and networking and has run at very large scale.
Already run Kubernetes
Cozystack turns bare-metal servers into a cloud with Kubernetes-based APIs.