head to head · open source
ddev vs CourseLit
ddev has 3,944 GitHub stars, 719 forks, 163 open issues and last shipped yesterday. CourseLit has 1,294 stars, 267 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ddev leads on adoption by 205% (3,944 vs 1,294 stars). ddev is written in Go under Apache-2.0; CourseLit is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. ddev has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, CourseLit 21%. ddev 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
| ddev | CourseLit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.9K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 719 | ⑂ 267 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ddev if
- You weight community size — 3.9K 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 CourseLit if
- You want the CourseLit 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 CourseLit fits your workflow better
About ddev
Docker based local development environments, ready in minutes Get the power of Docker without needing to know Docker. Start PHP and Node.js projects in minutes, run many projects at the same time, and spend less time on setup. Get Started · Documentation · Quickstarts · Add on Registry · Contributing · Sponsor Get started The quickest path is the Get Started guide: pick your operating system and it gives you the install commands and your first project, on one page. If you'd rather read the full instructions: 1. 💻 Check that DDEV runs where you work: macOS, Windows 11, WSL2, Linux, and GitHub Codespaces. See the…
About CourseLit
CourseLit Sell online courses and digital downloads from your own website. An open source alternative to Teachable, Thinkific, Podia and the likes. Website Documentation Roadmap A modern LMS for everyone CourseLit is a batteries included learning management system (aka LMS) for everyone. It is an open source alternative to Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Teachery, LearnDash and the likes. It comes pre equipped with all the basic tools you need to efficiently run and administer your online teaching business. Features include course authoring, student management, payment processing (via Stripe), website builder…
read the full CourseLit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ddev or CourseLit more popular?
ddev has 3,944 GitHub stars and CourseLit has 1,294. ddev has the larger community by that measure.
Are ddev and CourseLit free?
Both are open source. ddev is licensed under Apache-2.0 and CourseLit under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ddev and CourseLit?
ddev is written in Go and CourseLit 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, ddev or CourseLit?
Choose ddev if you want the larger community (3,944 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose CourseLit if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.