head to head · open source
etherpad vs free4chat
etherpad has 18,554 GitHub stars, 3,049 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. free4chat has 1,185 stars, 166 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped yesterday. etherpad leads on adoption by 1,466% (18,554 vs 1,185 stars). etherpad is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; free4chat is written in TypeScript under MIT. etherpad has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, free4chat 14%. free4chat 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 | free4chat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 166 |
| 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 free4chat if
- You want the free4chat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and free4chat 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 free4chat
Free4Chat is an MIT licensed, TypeScript system for temporary capability access and collaboration that brings humans and independently running AI agents together in short lived Rooms to exchange realtime context, media, focused Tasks, and artifacts without accounts or a permanent workspace.
read the full free4chat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etherpad or free4chat more popular?
etherpad has 18,554 GitHub stars and free4chat has 1,185. etherpad has the larger community by that measure.
Are etherpad and free4chat free?
Both are open source. etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and free4chat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etherpad and free4chat?
etherpad is written in TypeScript and free4chat 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 free4chat?
Choose etherpad if you want the larger community (18,554 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose free4chat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.