Comparison
Stella Ops vs Octopus Deploy
Octopus Deploy excels at orchestrating deployments.
Stella Ops adds evidence-grade security gates, reachability analysis, and audit-ready Decision Capsules.
Octopus Deploy
- • Mature deployment orchestration
- • Cloud or self-hosted options
- • Kubernetes-first, VMs second
- • No built-in security scanning
- • Per-machine/project licensing
Stella Ops Suite
- • Release orchestration + security decisioning
- • 100% self-hosted, air-gap ready
- • Non-Kubernetes first (Docker, Compose, ECS, Nomad)
- • Built-in reachability-aware scanning
- • Unlimited deployment targets
Feature Comparison
| Capability | Octopus | Stella Ops |
|---|---|---|
| Environment management | Yes | Yes |
| Promotion workflows | Yes | Yes |
| Approval gates | Yes | Yes (cryptographically signed) |
| Rollback support | Yes | Yes (with evidence preservation) |
| Vulnerability scanning | No (needs separate tool) | Built-in |
| Reachability analysis | No | Yes (hybrid 3-layer) |
SBOMSoftware Bill of Materials - a complete list of all packages and dependencies in your software SBOM generation | No | Yes |
| Audit-ready evidence export | No | Decision Capsules |
| Deterministic replay | No | Yes |
| Air-gap deployment | Partial | Full (Offline Kit) |
| Non-K8s focus | Secondary | Primary |
The Evidence Gap
Octopus can tell you what was deployed. Stella Ops proves why it was safe to deploy.
Octopus Audit
"Version 2.3.1 was deployed to production on Jan 15 by jsmith."
No evidence of security posture at deployment time.
Stella Ops Audit
"Version 2.3.1 (sha256:abc123) was deployed with 12 reachable CVEs below threshold, approved by jsmith, SBOM + reachability proof attached."
Complete decision evidence, replayable.
Deployment Capabilities
Both tools orchestrate deployments, but Stella is optimized for non-Kubernetes estates:
Deployment Targets
- → Docker Compose deployments
- → Docker Swarm clusters
- → AWS ECS / Fargate
- → HashiCorp Nomad
- → Scripted deployments (.NET 10)
Infrastructure Integration
- → SSH/WinRM agentless deployment
- → HashiCorp Vault for secrets
- → HashiCorp Consul for service registry
- → Environment promotions (Dev→Stage→Prod)
- → Approval workflows
Pricing Comparison
Octopus Pricing
- • Free: 10 projects, 10 targets, 10 tenants
- • Professional: From $4,170/year (~$347/mo)
- • Enterprise: Custom pricing
- • Annual billing only
Still need a separate scanner for security
Stella Ops Pricing
- • Free: 3 environments, 999 scans/month
- • Plus: $299/month — 33 envs, 9,999 scans
- • Pro: $999/month — 333 envs, 99,999 scans
- • Unlimited deployment targets
Orchestration + security + evidence in one platform
Octopus Pro + Snyk Team ≈ $472/month
(Octopus ~$347/mo + Snyk 5 devs × $25 = $125/mo)
Stella Plus: $299/month — one platform, complete solution
When to Use Which
Choose Octopus if...
- • Kubernetes is your primary target
- • You already have security scanning covered
- • Audit evidence isn't a requirement
- • You prefer mature, widely-adopted tooling
Choose Stella Ops if...
- • Non-Kubernetes is your primary estate
- • You need built-in security decisioning
- • Auditors require exportable evidence
- • Air-gap or sovereign deployment is required
- • You want one platform instead of two
Methodology: This comparison is based on publicly available documentation, release notes, and hands-on evaluation as of January 2026. Features and capabilities change over time. We encourage you to verify current capabilities with each vendor's official documentation.
Stella Ops is committed to accurate, fair comparisons. If you believe any information is outdated or incorrect, please contact hello@stella-ops.org.
Evidence-grade orchestration, not just deployment
One platform for security + orchestration + audit.