head to head · open source
changedetection.io vs crw
changedetection.io has 35,461 GitHub stars, 2,194 forks, 385 open issues and last shipped yesterday. crw has 1,208 stars, 97 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. changedetection.io leads on adoption by 2,836% (35,461 vs 1,208 stars). changedetection.io is written in Python under Apache-2.0; crw is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. changedetection.io has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, crw 8%. 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 | crw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 97 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick changedetection.io if
- You weight community size — 35K 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 crw if
- You want the crw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and crw fits your workflow better
About changedetection.io
Detect Website Changes Automatically — Monitor Web Page Changes in Real Time Monitor websites for updates — get notified via Discord, Email, Slack, Telegram, Webhook and many more. Detect web page content changes and get instant alerts. Ideal for monitoring price changes, content edits, conditional changes and more. [![Release Version][release shield]][release link] [![Docker Pulls][docker pulls]][docker link] [![License][license shield]](LICENSE.md) Get started with website page change monitoring straight away. Don't have time? Try our $8.99/month subscription, use our proxies and support! , half the price of…
read the full changedetection.io overview →
About crw
fastCRW Turn URLs into clean markdown or structured JSON with one engine for search, scrape, map, crawl, and extract. Run it locally as a small Rust binary or use the managed API. Get 1000 free credits → · Install · Docs No credit card. Continue with GitHub. One command install Runs local and free, no account needed. To use the Cloud, paste your key into the same command and it installs the binary, connects the key, and registers the MCP server with the AI coding tools you already have: Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode and Windsurf are picked up automatically when they are already set up; nothing…
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Frequently asked questions
Is changedetection.io or crw more popular?
changedetection.io has 35,461 GitHub stars and crw has 1,208. changedetection.io has the larger community by that measure.
Are changedetection.io and crw free?
Both are open source. changedetection.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and crw under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between changedetection.io and crw?
changedetection.io is written in Python and crw in Rust. 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 crw?
Choose changedetection.io if you want the larger community (35,461 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose crw if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.