head to head · open source
Bluesky vs Nora
Bluesky has 18,364 GitHub stars, 2,872 forks, 2,400 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nora has 1,176 stars, 40 forks, 61 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Bluesky leads on adoption by 1,462% (18,364 vs 1,176 stars). Bluesky is written in TypeScript under MIT; Nora is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Bluesky has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Nora 3%. Bluesky 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
| Bluesky | Nora | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 40 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Bluesky if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Nora if
- You want the Nora feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Nora fits your workflow better
About Bluesky
Bluesky Social App Welcome friends! This is the codebase for the Bluesky Social app. Get the app itself: Web: bsky.app iOS: App Store Android: Play Store Development Resources This is a React Native application, written in the TypeScript programming language. It builds on the atproto TypeScript packages (like @atproto/api ), which are also open source, but in a different git repository. There is a small amount of Go language source code (in ./bskyweb/ ), for a web service that returns the React Native Web application. The Build Instructions are a good place to get started with the app itself. The Authenticated…
read the full Bluesky overview →
About Nora
Nora: SNS browser Android, iOS and Desktop browser optimized for social network services. Install from App Store, Google Play, F Droid, or download APK from GitHub. Nora Desktop features a deck view to easily browse multiple timelines. Linux, macOS, Windows versions are available. Features No ads Multiple accounts with separate cookie storage Blocklist (EasyList and EasyPrivacy) Download image Download fb/ig/tiktok/x video Select text Zoom Remove tracking url query params Customize with CSS Supported SNS Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Reddit Threads TikTok Tumblr VK X (Twitter) How it works Wrap the SNS…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Bluesky or Nora more popular?
Bluesky has 18,364 GitHub stars and Nora has 1,176. Bluesky has the larger community by that measure.
Are Bluesky and Nora free?
Both are open source. Bluesky is licensed under MIT and Nora under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Bluesky and Nora?
Bluesky is written in TypeScript and Nora 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, Bluesky or Nora?
Choose Bluesky if you want the larger community (18,364 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Nora if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.