# release-drafter vs release-please

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** release-drafter

| Attribute | release-drafter | release-please |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 61.5 (61% (medium)) | 51.8 (60% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 5 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 15,868 | 65 |
| adoption.github_stars | 3,948 | 7,629 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A GitHub Action that maintains an up-to-date draft release by categorizing merged pull requests. Supports custom templates, semantic versioning, contributor tracking, and automated version resolution. It is indexed under Changelog Tools.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What is release-drafter?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"release-drafter is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the ISC licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Is release-drafter free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to release-drafter. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does release-drafter support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for release-drafter, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Can release-drafter be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. release-drafter is published under the ISC licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter","question":"Is release-drafter open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"A tool that automates release management by parsing git commit history, generating changelogs, creating release pull requests, and publishing GitHub releases based on semantic versioning conventions. It is indexed under Changelog Tools.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What is release-please?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"release-please supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does release-please support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for release-please, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://github.com/pricing","question":"Can release-please be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. release-please is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please","question":"Is release-please open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Release Drafter is a GitHub Action that generates and manages release notes automatically. It creates drafts based on merged pull requests, supporting semantic versioning, conventional commits, and customizable release templates with category-based organization. | A tool that automates release management by parsing git commit history, generating changelogs, creating release pull requests, and publishing GitHub releases based on semantic versioning conventions. |
| features.capabilities | `{"ci_cd_integration":true,"semver_automation":true,"open_source_self_host":true,"conventional_commits_support":true}` | `{"monorepo_support":true,"ci_cd_integration":true,"semver_automation":true,"open_source_self_host":true,"conventional_commits_support":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitHub Enterprise Server","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"GitLab","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Gitea","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Forgejo","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"}]` | `[{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"GitHub Actions","native":true,"category":"ci_cd","direction":"bidirectional"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| license.spdx | ISC | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://github.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-14T21:31:50.088Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://github.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-14T21:34:58.140Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 8 | 5 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.10.0","date":"2026-10-07T16:47:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.9.0","date":"2026-10-02T03:02:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.8.0","date":"2026-10-01T17:03:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.7.0","date":"2026-07-29T09:43:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.6.0","date":"2026-07-19T12:24:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.5.1","date":"2026-06-25T14:28:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.5.0","date":"2026-06-25T06:58:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.4.0","date":"2026-06-16T13:13:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.3.1","date":"2026-05-25T09:26:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.3.0","date":"2026-05-08T07:23:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.2.1","date":"2026-04-29T19:28:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.2.0","date":"2026-04-09T15:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.1.1","date":"2026-03-18T18:05:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.1.0","date":"2026-03-17T16:50:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v7.0.0","date":"2026-03-13T15:02:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v7.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.4.0","date":"2026-03-07T17:13:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.3.0","date":"2026-03-06T08:48:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.2.0","date":"2026-01-22T09:49:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.1.1","date":"2026-01-19T19:02:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/release-drafter/release-drafter/releases/tag/v6.1.0","date":"2025-01-19T14:45:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v6.1.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.11.2","date":"2026-08-24T21:20:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.11.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.11.1","date":"2026-07-31T14:26:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.11.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.11.0","date":"2026-07-30T01:51:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.10.4","date":"2026-07-21T18:18:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.10.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.10.3","date":"2026-07-09T16:02:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.10.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.10.2","date":"2026-07-07T15:51:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.10.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.10.1","date":"2026-06-29T15:45:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.10.0","date":"2026-06-22T17:05:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.9.0","date":"2026-06-09T21:42:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.8.0","date":"2026-06-08T14:10:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.7.0","date":"2026-06-01T13:09:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.6.1","date":"2026-05-26T19:20:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.6.0","date":"2026-04-13T20:59:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.5.2","date":"2026-04-10T20:16:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.5.1","date":"2026-04-09T17:49:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.5.0","date":"2026-04-09T16:58:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.4.1","date":"2026-04-08T22:38:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.4.0","date":"2026-04-06T21:29:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.3.0","date":"2026-02-18T19:59:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/googleapis/release-please/releases/tag/v17.2.1","date":"2026-02-13T17:35:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v17.2.1"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.7 | 8 |
| security.trust_center | https://github.com/security | https://github.com/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=actions&package_name=release-drafter%2Frelease-drafter&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=release-please&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Changelog Tools)

| Capability | release-drafter | release-please |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Conventional commits support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Semver automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Public hosted page | - | - |
| Embeddable widget | - | - |
| Custom domain whitelabel | - | - |
| Audience segmentation | - | - |
| Monorepo support | - | ✓ |
| Ci cd integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI assisted drafting | - | - |
| View analytics | - | - |
| Open source self host | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:28:37.822Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*