head to head · open source
changedetection.io vs ArrowDL
changedetection.io has 34,312 GitHub stars, 2,064 forks, 385 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ArrowDL has 851 stars, 41 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. changedetection.io leads on adoption by 3,932% (34,312 vs 851 stars). changedetection.io is written in Python under Apache-2.0; ArrowDL is written in C++ under LGPL-3.0. changedetection.io has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, ArrowDL 5%. changedetection.io 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
| changedetection.io | ArrowDL | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 851 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-05-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 41 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick changedetection.io if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ArrowDL if
- You want the ArrowDL feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and ArrowDL fits your workflow better
About changedetection.io
changedetection.io is an open source website change detection and web page monitoring tool written in Python and released under the Apache 2.0 license. It watches URLs, detects when their content changes, and sends alerts through channels such as Discord, Email, Slack, Telegram, and Webhook. The project lives in the Data & Analytics / Data Extraction & Web Scraping ecosystem, carries more than 34,000 stars and 2,000 forks on GitHub, and has been developed for roughly six years. It is designed to be self hosted, and the same codebase also backs a hosted subscription service offered by the maintainers.…
read the full changedetection.io overview →
About ArrowDL
ArrowDL (Arrow Downloader) is a free, open source, standalone download manager for Windows, macOS and Linux, built in C++ with the Qt framework and aimed at anyone who needs to capture, queue and batch download files, media streams and torrents without depending on a browser's built in downloader.
read the full ArrowDL overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is changedetection.io or ArrowDL more popular?
changedetection.io has 34,312 GitHub stars and ArrowDL has 851. changedetection.io has the larger community by that measure.
Are changedetection.io and ArrowDL free?
Both are open source. changedetection.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ArrowDL under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between changedetection.io and ArrowDL?
changedetection.io is written in Python and ArrowDL 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, changedetection.io or ArrowDL?
Choose changedetection.io if you want the larger community (34,312 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ArrowDL if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.