head to head · open source
etherpad vs chitchatter
etherpad has 18,617 GitHub stars, 3,060 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. chitchatter has 2,344 stars, 451 forks, 53 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. etherpad leads on adoption by 694% (18,617 vs 2,344 stars). etherpad is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; chitchatter is written in TypeScript under GPL-2.0. etherpad has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, chitchatter 19%. etherpad 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
| etherpad | chitchatter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 451 |
| 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 chitchatter if
- You want the chitchatter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and chitchatter fits your workflow better
About etherpad
Etherpad — the editor for documents that matter Real time collaborative editing where authorship is the default, your server is the only server, and you decide what AI (if any) ever touches your text. About Etherpad is a real time collaborative editor for documents that matter. Every keystroke is attributed to its author. Every revision is preserved. The timeslider lets you scrub through a document's entire history, character by character. Author colours make collaboration visible at a glance — not buried in a menu. Etherpad runs on your server, under your governance. No telemetry. No upsells. AI is a plugin you…
read the full etherpad overview →
About chitchatter
Chitchatter Logo provided by @ramyashreeshetty Chitchatter is a free (as in both price and freedom) communication tool. Designed to be the simplest way to connect with others privately and securely, it is: Fully open source (licensed under GPL v2) Peer to peer Whenever possible, otherwise a TURN server is used to ensure reliable peer connection End to end encrypted (via WebRTC) Ephemeral Message content is never persisted to disk on either the client or server Decentralized No API server required . Chitchatter works completely without an API server all that's required for basic functionality is availability of…
read the full chitchatter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etherpad or chitchatter more popular?
etherpad has 18,617 GitHub stars and chitchatter has 2,344. etherpad has the larger community by that measure.
Are etherpad and chitchatter free?
Both are open source. etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and chitchatter under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etherpad and chitchatter?
etherpad is written in TypeScript and chitchatter 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, etherpad or chitchatter?
Choose etherpad if you want the larger community (18,617 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose chitchatter if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.