head to head · open source
chromium vs Flow
chromium has 25,235 GitHub stars, 9,398 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Flow has 1,093 stars, 61 forks, 59 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. chromium leads on adoption by 2,209% (25,235 vs 1,093 stars). chromium is written in various languages under BSD-3-Clause; Flow is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. chromium has attracted 37% as many forks as stars, Flow 6%. chromium 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| chromium | Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | — | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-05-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.4K | ⑂ 61 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick chromium if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Flow if
- You want the Flow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Flow fits your workflow better
About chromium
Chromium Chromium is an open source browser project that aims to build a safer, faster, and more stable way for all users to experience the web. The project's web site is To check out the source code locally, don't use git clone ! Instead, follow the instructions on how to get the code. Documentation in the source is rooted in docs/README.md. Learn how to Get Around the Chromium Source Code Directory Structure. For historical reasons, there are some small top level directories. Now the guidance is that new top level directories are for product (e.g. Chrome, Android WebView, Ash). Even if these products have…
read the full chromium overview →
About Flow
Flow Browser A modern, tabbed web browser with Chrome extension support—built on Electron. Overview Flow Browser is a lightweight, feature rich web browser that combines the power of Chromium with a clean, modern interface. Built on Electron, it offers full support for Chrome extensions, making it a versatile alternative to mainstream browsers. Install Choose the file you need and download from GitHub Releases. Screenshots Features Profiles : Multiple profiles support, allowing you to use different settings and extensions for each profile. Spaces : Multiple spaces support, allowing you to organize your tabs into…
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Browsers & Extensions projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Browsers & Extensions field.
Frequently asked questions
Is chromium or Flow more popular?
chromium has 25,235 GitHub stars and Flow has 1,093. chromium has the larger community by that measure.
Are chromium and Flow free?
Both are open source. chromium is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Flow under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between chromium and Flow?
chromium is written in various languages and Flow 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, chromium or Flow?
Choose chromium if you want the larger community (25,235 stars) or its BSD-3-Clause licence terms. Choose Flow if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.