head to head · open source
Affine vs Graphite
Affine has 72,715 GitHub stars, 5,283 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Graphite has 27,269 stars, 1,259 forks, 562 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Affine leads on adoption by 167% (72,715 vs 27,269 stars). Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Graphite is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Affine has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Graphite 5%. Graphite was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Affine | Graphite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 27K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Affine if
- You weight community size — 73K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Graphite if
- You want the Graphite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Graphite fits your workflow better
About Affine
AFFiNE is an open source, privacy first workspace that merges documentation, whiteboarding, and databases into one hyper fused platform. It lives in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, positioned as a direct alternative to Notion and Miro. Built with local first principles, it ensures users retain full control of their data while supporting real time collaboration across web and desktop clients.
read the full Affine overview →
About Graphite
Graphite is a browser based, open source procedural vector editor and 2D content creation application built with Rust. It operates entirely client side with no signup required and runs directly at editor.graphite.art. As an alpha stage project, it combines layer based compositing with a node based procedural graphics engine, evolving beyond traditional vector editing into a generalized graphics toolbox.
read the full Graphite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Affine or Graphite more popular?
Affine has 72,715 GitHub stars and Graphite has 27,269. Affine has the larger community by that measure.
Are Affine and Graphite free?
Both are open source. Affine has no licence declared in this registry, and Graphite is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Affine and Graphite?
Affine is written in TypeScript and Graphite in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Affine or Graphite?
Choose Affine if you want the larger community (72,715 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Graphite if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.