head to head · open source
filament vs mesh
filament has 32,397 GitHub stars, 4,237 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mesh has 593 stars, 124 forks, 135 open issues and last shipped yesterday. filament leads on adoption by 5,363% (32,397 vs 593 stars). filament is written in PHP under MIT; mesh is written in Java under Apache-2.0. filament has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, mesh 21%. filament was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cms), 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
| filament | mesh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 593 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 124 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick filament if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mesh if
- You want the mesh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and mesh fits your workflow better
About filament
Build apps & admin panels fast, for your bright ideas. With a solid Laravel foundation and a polished UI, you can focus on what makes your product unique. Filament gives you UI components that you won't outgrow — a cohesive set of well considered building blocks that adapt as your application grows in complexity. Tables — Browse and filter large datasets with powerful columns, actions, and bulk operations. Forms — Build complex, reactive forms using a set of reusable, state aware components. Infolists — Render read only record views with structured layouts and custom formatting. Notifications — Trigger in app…
read the full filament overview →
About mesh
Gentics Mesh is your friendly, enterprise grade, open source headless CMS To be honest, it’s more than that: it’s your application development platform to develop your websites, your IoT applications, your mobile apps, your smart devices and your digital signage solutions. With its best in class APIs, a complete feature list and great documentation, you’ll get your projects done successfully in less time, no matter which technology you prefer. Quick Start Check out our Getting Started Guide for an explanation of the basic concepts of Gentics Mesh. Table of Contents Quick Start Table of Contents Introduction…
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Frequently asked questions
Is filament or mesh more popular?
filament has 32,397 GitHub stars and mesh has 593. filament has the larger community by that measure.
Are filament and mesh free?
Both are open source. filament is licensed under MIT and mesh under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between filament and mesh?
filament is written in PHP and mesh in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, filament or mesh?
Choose filament if you want the larger community (32,397 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mesh if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.