head to head · open source
cobalt vs Colanode
cobalt has 45,722 GitHub stars, 4,031 forks, 269 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. Colanode has 5,183 stars, 333 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. cobalt leads on adoption by 782% (45,722 vs 5,183 stars). cobalt is written in Svelte under AGPL-3.0; Colanode is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. cobalt has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Colanode 6%. cobalt 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
| cobalt | Colanode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Svelte | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-04-06 | 2026-04-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 333 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cobalt if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Svelte
- 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 cobalt
best way to save what you love cobalt.tools 💬 community discord server 🐦 twitter 🦋 bluesky cobalt is a media downloader that doesn't piss you off. it's friendly, efficient, and doesn't have ads, trackers, paywalls or other nonsense. paste the link, get the file, move on. that simple, just how it should be. cobalt monorepo this monorepo includes source code for api, frontend, and related packages: api tree & readme web tree & readme packages tree it also includes documentation in the docs tree: how to run a cobalt instance how to protect a cobalt instance cobalt api instance environment variables cobalt api…
read the full cobalt overview →
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 cobalt or Colanode more popular?
cobalt has 45,722 GitHub stars and Colanode has 5,183. cobalt has the larger community by that measure.
Are cobalt and Colanode free?
Both are open source. cobalt is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Colanode under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cobalt and Colanode?
cobalt is written in Svelte 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, cobalt or Colanode?
Choose cobalt if you want the larger community (45,722 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Colanode if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.