head to head · open source
etherpad vs chat
etherpad has 18,552 GitHub stars, 3,050 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped yesterday. chat has 13,508 stars, 2,078 forks, 41 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. etherpad leads on adoption by 37% (18,552 vs 13,508 stars). etherpad is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; chat is written in Go under GPL-3.0. etherpad has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, chat 15%. etherpad was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (collaboration), 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.
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Side by side
| etherpad | chat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick etherpad if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick chat if
- You want the chat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and chat fits your workflow better
About etherpad
Etherpad is a real time collaborative document editor, written in TypeScript and released under Apache 2.0, for teams and institutions that need every keystroke attributed to its author, every revision preserved, and all text hosted on infrastructure they control.
read the full etherpad overview →
About chat
Tinode is an open source, full stack instant messaging server that pairs a Go backend with native iOS, Android, web, and command line clients, built for developers and operators who want to run or federate their own messaging platform rather than rent one.
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Frequently asked questions
Is etherpad or chat more popular?
etherpad has 18,552 GitHub stars and chat has 13,508. etherpad has the larger community by that measure.
Are etherpad and chat free?
Both are open source. etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and chat under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etherpad and chat?
etherpad is written in TypeScript and chat in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, etherpad or chat?
Choose etherpad if you want the larger community (18,552 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose chat if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.