head to head · open source
Ente vs Cinny
Ente has 28,935 GitHub stars, 1,802 forks, 229 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Cinny has 3,893 stars, 578 forks, 354 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Ente leads on adoption by 643% (28,935 vs 3,893 stars). Ente is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Cinny is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Ente has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Cinny 15%. Ente 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
| Ente | Cinny | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 578 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ente if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Cinny if
- You want the Cinny 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 Cinny fits your workflow better
About Ente
Ente is a fully open source, end to end encrypted platform for storing photos, documents and credentials in the cloud, packaged as a monorepo of client apps and a server, and intended for people who want the features of Google Photos, Apple Photos and Authy without having to trust the service provider with their data.
About Cinny
Cinny is an open source Matrix client written in TypeScript under AGPL 3.0. It lives in the Matrix ecosystem and is presented as "yet another matrix client," focusing on a simple, elegant, and secure interface. Its stated goal is an instant messaging application that is easy for people and has a modern touch.
read the full Cinny overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ente or Cinny more popular?
Ente has 28,935 GitHub stars and Cinny has 3,893. Ente has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ente and Cinny free?
Both are open source. Ente is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Cinny under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ente and Cinny?
Ente is written in Dart and Cinny 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, Ente or Cinny?
Choose Ente if you want the larger community (28,935 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Cinny if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.