head to head · open source
three.js vs aframe
three.js has 115,693 GitHub stars, 36,556 forks, 386 open issues and last shipped yesterday. aframe has 17,635 stars, 4,396 forks, 338 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. three.js leads on adoption by 556% (115,693 vs 17,635 stars). three.js is written in JavaScript under MIT; aframe is written in JavaScript under MIT. three.js has attracted 32% as many forks as stars, aframe 25%. three.js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (3d, augmented-reality), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| three.js | aframe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 116K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-07-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 37K | ⑂ 4.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick three.js if
- You weight community size — 116K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick aframe if
- You want the aframe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and aframe fits your workflow better
About three.js
three.js is an MIT licensed JavaScript 3D library that provides an easy to use, lightweight, cross browser, general purpose layer for rendering interactive 3D graphics in the browser, aimed at JavaScript developers who need 3D scenes on the web without writing raw GPU code.
read the full three.js overview →
About aframe
A Frame is an MIT licensed JavaScript web framework built on top of three.js that lets anyone who can write HTML build browser based 3D, augmented reality and virtual reality experiences running on desktop, mobile and any WebXR capable headset.
read the full aframe overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Gaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Gaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is three.js or aframe more popular?
three.js has 115,693 GitHub stars and aframe has 17,635. three.js has the larger community by that measure.
Are three.js and aframe free?
Both are open source. three.js is licensed under MIT and aframe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between three.js and aframe?
three.js is written in JavaScript and aframe in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, three.js or aframe?
Choose three.js if you want the larger community (115,693 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose aframe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.