head to head · open source
BleachBit vs burrow
BleachBit has 7,349 GitHub stars, 486 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped yesterday. burrow has 1,674 stars, 184 forks, 58 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BleachBit leads on adoption by 339% (7,349 vs 1,674 stars). BleachBit is written in Python under GPL-3.0; burrow is written in Swift under MIT. BleachBit has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, burrow 11%. BleachBit was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cleaner), 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.
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Side by side
| BleachBit | burrow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.3K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 486 | ⑂ 184 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick BleachBit if
- You weight community size — 7.3K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick burrow if
- You want the burrow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and burrow fits your workflow better
About BleachBit
BleachBit BleachBit cleans files to free disk space and to maintain privacy. Running from source To run BleachBit without installation, first install the system dependencies, then build the translations and run it: Many Linux systems have the basic dependencies: you may skip installation, but in case of any issues, please check for missing dependencies. Then, review the preferences. Then, select some options, and click Preview. Review the files, toggle options accordingly, and click Delete. For information regarding the command line interface, run: Read more about running from source. Links BleachBit home page…
read the full BleachBit overview →
About burrow
Burrow is an independent open source (MIT) app. It bundles its own engine — burrow engine , a single source available binary under the Functional Source License (FSL 1.1 ALv2) whose command surface is modelled on the Mole ( mo ) CLI by tw93 — and is not affiliated with or endorsed by mole.fit (the official Mole for Mac app by mo 's author); its own name, mark, palette, and copy are original. If you like Mole and want to fund mo 's development — buy mole.fit ($19) . burrow 🐹 The open source system companion for your Mac — clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, and monitor, built for you and your AI agents. Burrow…
read the full burrow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is BleachBit or burrow more popular?
BleachBit has 7,349 GitHub stars and burrow has 1,674. BleachBit has the larger community by that measure.
Are BleachBit and burrow free?
Both are open source. BleachBit is licensed under GPL-3.0 and burrow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between BleachBit and burrow?
BleachBit is written in Python and burrow in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, BleachBit or burrow?
Choose BleachBit if you want the larger community (7,349 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose burrow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.