head to head · open source
certificates vs Cinny
certificates has 8,885 GitHub stars, 597 forks, 299 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Cinny has 3,897 stars, 578 forks, 354 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. certificates leads on adoption by 128% (8,885 vs 3,897 stars). certificates is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Cinny is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. certificates has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Cinny 15%. certificates 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| certificates | Cinny | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.9K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 597 | ⑂ 578 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick certificates if
- You weight community size — 8.9K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Cinny if
- You want the Cinny 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 Cinny fits your workflow better
About certificates
step ca is an open source online certificate authority that issues X.509 and SSH certificates and runs as an ACME server, built for DevOps teams that need automated certificate management without a commercial PKI contract.
read the full certificates overview →
About Cinny
Cinny is an open source Matrix client written in TypeScript under AGPL 3.0. It lives in the Matrix ecosystem and is presented as "yet another matrix client," focusing on a simple, elegant, and secure interface. Its stated goal is an instant messaging application that is easy for people and has a modern touch.
read the full Cinny overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Data Security & Privacy projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Security & Privacy field.
Frequently asked questions
Is certificates or Cinny more popular?
certificates has 8,885 GitHub stars and Cinny has 3,897. certificates has the larger community by that measure.
Are certificates and Cinny free?
Both are open source. certificates is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Cinny under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between certificates and Cinny?
certificates is written in Go and Cinny 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, certificates or Cinny?
Choose certificates if you want the larger community (8,885 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Cinny if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.