head to head · open source
alive-progress vs helios-server
alive-progress has 6,307 GitHub stars, 236 forks, 20 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. helios-server has 924 stars, 386 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. alive-progress leads on adoption by 583% (6,307 vs 924 stars). alive-progress is written in Python under MIT; helios-server is written in Python under Apache-2.0. alive-progress has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, helios-server 42%. helios-server 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
| alive-progress | helios-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.3K | ★ 924 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-05-24 | 2026-08-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 236 | ⑂ 386 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick alive-progress if
- You weight community size — 6.3K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick helios-server if
- You want the helios-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and helios-server fits your workflow better
About alive-progress
alive progress is a Python progress bar library for long running command line processing, aimed at developers who need live throughput, an accurate ETA, and rich terminal animation instead of a static bar.
read the full alive-progress overview →
About helios-server
Helios is an end to end verifiable voting system, published as the open source helios server project for election organizers and developers who need to run votes whose results can be checked independently rather than taken on trust.
read the full helios-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is alive-progress or helios-server more popular?
alive-progress has 6,307 GitHub stars and helios-server has 924. alive-progress has the larger community by that measure.
Are alive-progress and helios-server free?
Both are open source. alive-progress is licensed under MIT and helios-server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between alive-progress and helios-server?
alive-progress is written in Python and helios-server in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, alive-progress or helios-server?
Choose alive-progress if you want the larger community (6,307 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose helios-server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.