head to head · open source
Buzz vs Colanode
Buzz has 36,686 GitHub stars, 4,869 forks, 3,556 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Colanode has 5,183 stars, 333 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. Buzz leads on adoption by 608% (36,686 vs 5,183 stars). Buzz is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Colanode is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Buzz has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Colanode 6%. Buzz 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
| Buzz | Colanode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-04-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.9K | ⑂ 333 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Buzz if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Colanode if
- You want the Colanode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Colanode fits your workflow better
About Buzz
Buzz 🐝 A workspace where humans and agents build together, on a relay you own. Vision · Sovereign · Forge · Agents · Architecture · Releasing · Apache 2.0 People and agents building together in the same room. What is this, really? Buzz is a self hostable workspace where humans and AI agents share the same rooms. A Buzz community is the workspace a user reaches by URL. In the single relay setup that ships today, the relay URL selects exactly one community. A hosted operator can serve many communities behind many domains or subdomains, but the client facing rule stays the same: the URL is authoritative for the…
About Colanode
Colanode Open source & local first collaboration workspace that you can self host Colanode is an all in one platform for easy collaboration, built to prioritize your data privacy and control. Designed with a local first approach, it helps teams communicate, organize, and manage projects—whether online or offline. With Colanode, you get the flexibility of modern collaboration tools, plus the peace of mind that comes from owning your data. What can you do with Colanode? Real Time Chat: Stay connected with instant messaging for teams and individuals. Rich Text Pages: Create documents, wikis, and notes using an…
read the full Colanode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Buzz or Colanode more popular?
Buzz has 36,686 GitHub stars and Colanode has 5,183. Buzz has the larger community by that measure.
Are Buzz and Colanode free?
Both are open source. Buzz is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Colanode under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Buzz and Colanode?
Buzz is written in Rust and Colanode 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, Buzz or Colanode?
Choose Buzz if you want the larger community (36,686 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Colanode if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.