head to head · open source
AppSmith vs bb
AppSmith has 40,950 GitHub stars, 4,772 forks, 4,467 open issues and last shipped yesterday. bb has 3,946 stars, 553 forks, 463 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AppSmith leads on adoption by 938% (40,950 vs 3,946 stars). AppSmith is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; bb is written in TypeScript under MIT. AppSmith has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, bb 14%. bb 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| AppSmith | bb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-26 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 553 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AppSmith if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick bb if
- You want the bb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and bb fits your workflow better
About AppSmith
Appsmith is an open source, Apache 2.0 low code platform written primarily in TypeScript that lets teams build custom internal tools such as admin panels, dashboards, and CRUD applications on top of their own databases and APIs.
read the full AppSmith overview →
About bb
bb is the agent IDE that builds itself: an MIT licensed TypeScript application that lets developers drive coding agents from a desktop app, a web app, a CLI, or an HTTP API, and extend the tool itself while it runs.
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Frameworks & Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Frameworks & Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is AppSmith or bb more popular?
AppSmith has 40,950 GitHub stars and bb has 3,946. AppSmith has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppSmith and bb free?
Both are open source. AppSmith is licensed under Apache-2.0 and bb under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppSmith and bb?
AppSmith is written in TypeScript and bb in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, AppSmith or bb?
Choose AppSmith if you want the larger community (40,950 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose bb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.