head to head · open source
Acode vs netbeans
Acode has 7,050 GitHub stars, 1,571 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped yesterday. netbeans has 3,139 stars, 933 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Acode leads on adoption by 125% (7,050 vs 3,139 stars). Acode is written in JavaScript under MIT; netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Acode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, netbeans 30%. Acode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (code-editor), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Acode | netbeans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.0K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 933 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Acode if
- You weight community size — 7.0K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick netbeans if
- You want the netbeans feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and netbeans fits your workflow better
About Acode
Acode is a free, MIT licensed code editor for Android, distributed by the Acode Foundation under the package name com.foxdebug.acodefree on Google Play and com.foxdebug.acode on F Droid, and it is aimed at developers who want to read, edit, and preview source files directly on an Android phone or tablet.
read the full Acode overview →
About netbeans
Apache NetBeans is an Apache 2.0 open source development environment, tooling platform and application framework written in Java, aimed at developers who write and run Java applications and at teams that build desktop software on top of the NetBeans Platform.
read the full netbeans overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Acode or netbeans more popular?
Acode has 7,050 GitHub stars and netbeans has 3,139. Acode has the larger community by that measure.
Are Acode and netbeans free?
Both are open source. Acode is licensed under MIT and netbeans under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Acode and netbeans?
Acode is written in JavaScript and netbeans in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Acode or netbeans?
Choose Acode if you want the larger community (7,050 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose netbeans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.