head to head · open source
Brave vs Helium
Brave has 23,676 GitHub stars, 3,216 forks, 10,752 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Helium has 20,799 stars, 587 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Brave leads on adoption by 14% (23,676 vs 20,799 stars). Brave is written in various languages under MPL-2.0; Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. Brave has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, Helium 3%. Brave was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, chromium), 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
| Brave | Helium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 21K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | — | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 587 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Brave if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Helium if
- You want the Helium feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Helium fits your workflow better
About Brave
Brave is a Chromium based web browser for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, released under the MPL 2.0 licence, and this repository is the project's public issue tracker, release channel, and developer wiki rather than the home of its source code.
read the full Brave overview →
About Helium
Helium is an open source desktop web browser built around the Chromium project. It lives in the Chromium browser ecosystem and is published as a C++ project under the GPL 3.0 license, with imported code retaining its original license. The project describes itself as private, fast, and honest, and as a privacy first browser with ad blocking and no bloat.
read the full Helium overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Brave or Helium more popular?
Brave has 23,676 GitHub stars and Helium has 20,799. Brave has the larger community by that measure.
Are Brave and Helium free?
Both are open source. Brave is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Helium under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Brave and Helium?
Brave is written in various languages and Helium in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Brave or Helium?
Choose Brave if you want the larger community (23,676 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Helium if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.