What is OpenFaaS used for?

OpenFaaS is a serverless framework for running event-driven functions and microservices on Kubernetes, with auto-scaling, metrics and a UI portal. It is a good fit for serverless functions on your own Kubernetes, event-driven microservices and packaging existing binaries as HTTP endpoints.

Is OpenFaaS open source?

Yes. OpenFaaS is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openfaas/faas and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. OpenFaaS is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. Paid plans are also available, starting at $1,250 per month.

Can I self-host OpenFaaS?

Yes. OpenFaaS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is OpenFaaS an alternative to?

OpenFaaS is an open-source alternative to AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Run, Azure Functions and Cloudflare Workers. Other open-source alternatives to AWS Lambda include Tau.

Is OpenFaaS actively maintained?

The most recent commit to OpenFaaS was on 2 July 2026, and the latest release is 0.27.13, published on 29 August 2025. The project has 26k stars on GitHub.

OpenFaaS: open-source alternative to AWS Lambda

About OpenFaaS

OpenFaaS is a serverless platform that lets developers run event-driven functions and microservices on Kubernetes with little boilerplate code. Your code or a ready-made binary goes into an OCI-compatible container image, and you receive a scalable HTTP endpoint that auto-scales and exposes metrics.

Highlights include ease of use through a UI portal and a one-click install, and the ability to write services and functions in many languages. The project integrates with Prometheus for metrics and with GitOps workflows, and its topics place it in the functions-as-a-service and PaaS categories. The gateway and tooling are written in Go.

Licensing needs attention. The README states that the Community Edition is licensed for individual exploration and hobbyist use, with a 60-day limit for commercial proofs of concept, and that commercial and production use calls for the paid OpenFaaS Standard or Enterprise editions. GitHub reports the license as 'Other'. You run it on your own Kubernetes cluster.

Key features

Deploy functions and microservices to Kubernetes
OCI image-based packaging
Endpoints that scale automatically
Built-in Prometheus metrics
UI portal and one-click install
Functions in many languages

Good fit for

→Serverless functions on your own Kubernetes
→Event-driven microservices
→Packaging existing binaries as HTTP endpoints

Built with: Go; Kubernetes; Docker; Node.js
Tags: serverless; faas; kubernetes; functions; microservices; golang; prometheus; openfaas

OpenFaaS: questions and answers

What is OpenFaaS used for?: OpenFaaS is a serverless framework for running event-driven functions and microservices on Kubernetes, with auto-scaling, metrics and a UI portal. It is a good fit for serverless functions on your own Kubernetes, event-driven microservices and packaging existing binaries as HTTP endpoints.
Is OpenFaaS open source?: Yes. OpenFaaS is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openfaas/faas and is written mainly in Go.
Is OpenFaaS free?: Yes. OpenFaaS is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence. Paid plans are also available, starting at $1,250 per month.
Can I self-host OpenFaaS?: Yes. OpenFaaS can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is OpenFaaS an alternative to?: OpenFaaS is an open-source alternative to AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Run, Azure Functions and Cloudflare Workers. Other open-source alternatives to AWS Lambda include Tau.
Is OpenFaaS actively maintained?: The most recent commit to OpenFaaS was on 2 July 2026, and the latest release is 0.27.13, published on 29 August 2025. The project has 26k stars on GitHub.