head to head · open source
etherpad vs hedgedoc
etherpad has 18,552 GitHub stars, 3,050 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hedgedoc has 7,426 stars, 596 forks, 275 open issues and last shipped yesterday. etherpad leads on adoption by 150% (18,552 vs 7,426 stars). etherpad is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; hedgedoc is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. etherpad has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, hedgedoc 8%. hedgedoc 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 | hedgedoc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 7.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 596 |
| 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 hedgedoc if
- You want the hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc
HedgeDoc is an open source, self hostable collaborative markdown notes application, written in TypeScript and licensed under AGPL 3.0, for teams and individuals who need several people editing the same document in a browser at the same time.
read the full hedgedoc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etherpad or hedgedoc more popular?
etherpad has 18,552 GitHub stars and hedgedoc has 7,426. etherpad has the larger community by that measure.
Are etherpad and hedgedoc free?
Both are open source. etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hedgedoc under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etherpad and hedgedoc?
etherpad is written in TypeScript and hedgedoc 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 hedgedoc?
Choose etherpad if you want the larger community (18,552 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hedgedoc if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.