head to head · open source
AppSmith vs ProcessWire
AppSmith has 41,153 GitHub stars, 4,824 forks, 4,467 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ProcessWire has 1,158 stars, 210 forks, 93 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. AppSmith leads on adoption by 3,454% (41,153 vs 1,158 stars). AppSmith is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; ProcessWire is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence. AppSmith has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, ProcessWire 18%. AppSmith 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
| AppSmith | ProcessWire | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 210 |
| 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 ProcessWire if
- You want the ProcessWire feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and ProcessWire fits your workflow better
About AppSmith
Organizations build custom applications like dashboards, admin panels, customer 360, IT automation, and service management tools to help their teams work more efficiently and effectively. Appsmith is an open source low code platform that streamlines custom application development, deployment, and maintenance. Learn more on our website. Installation There are two ways to start using Appsmith: Signup on Appsmith Cloud. Install Appsmith on your machine. See the installation guides below. For other deployment options, see the Installation Guides documentation. Development To build and run Appsmith in your local dev…
read the full AppSmith overview →
About ProcessWire
Welcome to ProcessWire 3.x This document is in Markdown. An HTML formatted version of this document can be read at: Table of Contents 1. About 2. Installation 3. Upgrading 4. Troubleshooting 5. Support About ProcessWire ProcessWire is a friendly and powerful open source CMS with an API that is a joy to use at any scale. It is both a content management system (CMS) and framework (CMF) built to save you time and work the way you do. With all custom fields, a secure foundation, proven scalability and performance, ProcessWire connects all of your content seamlessly, making your job fast, easy and fun. ProcessWire…
read the full ProcessWire overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppSmith or ProcessWire more popular?
AppSmith has 41,153 GitHub stars and ProcessWire has 1,158. AppSmith has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppSmith and ProcessWire free?
Both are open source. AppSmith is licensed under Apache-2.0, and ProcessWire has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between AppSmith and ProcessWire?
AppSmith is written in TypeScript and ProcessWire in PHP. 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 ProcessWire?
Choose AppSmith if you want the larger community (41,153 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ProcessWire if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.