| ---
|
| license: cc-by-4.0
|
| language:
|
| - en
|
| pretty_name: Macrostack Open Alternatives
|
| size_categories:
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| - n<1K
|
| task_categories:
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| - tabular-classification
|
| tags:
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| - open-source
|
| - self-hosting
|
| - software-alternatives
|
| - cloud
|
| - licensing
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| - vendor-lock-in
|
| configs:
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| - config_name: default
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| data_files:
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| - split: train
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| path: data/alternatives.csv
|
| ---
|
|
|
| # Macrostack Open Alternatives
|
|
|
| **387 verified open-source and self-hostable alternatives** to
|
| 85 proprietary products, across 78 categories and the
|
| five layers of the AI and cloud stack.
|
|
|
| Maintained at **[macrostack.net](https://www.macrostack.net)**. Data version `2026-09-05`.
|
|
|
| ## What makes this different from a listicle
|
|
|
| Every licence is read from the project's own `LICENSE` file rather than from a
|
| marketing page. That sounds like a small distinction and it is not: vendors
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| routinely describe source-available and business-source licences as "open
|
| source", and a dataset that repeats the marketing is worse than no dataset.
|
|
|
| Each row also carries what a person actually needs in order to decide:
|
|
|
| - **`self_hostable`** — can you run it yourself at all
|
| - **`local_first`** — does it work with no network
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| - **`pricing`** — the shape of the cost, not a number that rots
|
| - **`sovereignty_score`** — a transparent 0–100 score for how much control you keep
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| - **`stack_layer`** — where it sits, L1 chips through L5 applications
|
|
|
| Of 387 entries, **295 are open source** and
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| **311 are self-hostable**.
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|
|
| ## Columns
|
|
|
| | Column | Meaning |
|
| |---|---|
|
| | `alternative` | The open or self-hostable option |
|
| | `replaces` | The proprietary product it is an alternative to |
|
| | `vendor_replaced` | Who sells that product |
|
| | `category`, `category_slug` | The decision category |
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| | `stack_layer`, `stack_layer_name` | L1 chips → L5 applications |
|
| | `license` | SPDX identifier, read from the project's own LICENSE |
|
| | `open_source` | True only for an OSI-approved licence |
|
| | `self_hostable` | Can be run on your own infrastructure |
|
| | `local_first` | Works without a network connection |
|
| | `sovereignty_score` | 0–100, how much control you retain |
|
| | `recommended` | Our pick in that category |
|
| | `pricing` | free · freemium · paid · usage |
|
| | `kind` | software · service · hardware |
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| | `website`, `repo`, `docs` | Canonical links |
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| | `last_verified` | When a human last checked the row |
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| | `source_page` | The page on macrostack.net this row is rendered on |
|
|
|
| ## Use it
|
|
|
| ```python
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| from datasets import load_dataset
|
|
|
| ds = load_dataset("Macrostack/macrostack-open-alternatives", split="train")
|
|
|
| # Self-hostable options that are genuinely open source
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| open_selfhost = ds.filter(lambda r: r["open_source"] and r["self_hostable"])
|
| print(len(open_selfhost))
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| ```
|
|
|
| Straight from the source, always current:
|
|
|
| ```bash
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| curl -sL https://www.macrostack.net/data/macrostack-alternatives.csv
|
| ```
|
|
|
| ## Licence and attribution
|
|
|
| **CC-BY-4.0.** You may use this commercially. Attribution is a condition of the
|
| licence, and it must include a link:
|
|
|
| > Data from [Macrostack](https://www.macrostack.net) — CC-BY-4.0
|
|
|
| ## Method and limits
|
|
|
| The full method is at [https://www.macrostack.net/methodology](https://www.macrostack.net/methodology).
|
|
|
| Worth stating plainly:
|
|
|
| - **`sovereignty_score` is our judgement**, not a measurement. The inputs are
|
| documented; the weighting is a considered opinion and you may disagree with it.
|
| - **`recommended` is a single pick per category** and never reflects a
|
| commercial relationship. Several top-ranked entries here have no affiliate
|
| programme at all, which is the point.
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| - **`pricing` is a shape, not a price.** Real prices change faster than any
|
| dataset can track, so we record the model instead.
|
| - **Coverage is deliberately narrow.** Infrastructure, developer tooling, AI and
|
| business software. Not consumer apps, not games.
|
|
|
| Corrections are welcome — every row links to the page it came from.
|
| |
