head to head · open source
webtorrent vs fingerprintjs
webtorrent has 31,465 GitHub stars, 2,852 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. fingerprintjs has 28,675 stars, 2,641 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. webtorrent leads on adoption by 10% (31,465 vs 28,675 stars). webtorrent is written in JavaScript under MIT; fingerprintjs is written in TypeScript under MIT. webtorrent has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, fingerprintjs 9%. fingerprintjs was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, javascript), 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
| webtorrent | fingerprintjs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 29K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 2.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick webtorrent if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick fingerprintjs if
- You want the fingerprintjs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and fingerprintjs fits your workflow better
About webtorrent
WebTorrent The streaming torrent client. For node.js and the web. Sponsored by WebTorrent is a streaming torrent client for node.js and the browser . YEP, THAT'S RIGHT. THE BROWSER. It's written completely in JavaScript – the language of the web – so the same code works in both runtimes. In node.js, this module is a simple torrent client, using TCP and UDP to talk to other torrent clients. In the browser, WebTorrent uses WebRTC (data channels) for peer to peer transport. It can be used without browser plugins, extensions, or installations. It's Just JavaScript™. Note: WebTorrent does not support UDP/TCP peers in…
read the full webtorrent overview →
About fingerprintjs
FingerprintJS is an open source, client side, browser fingerprinting library that queries browser attributes and computes a hashed visitor identifier from them. Unlike cookies and local storage, a fingerprint stays the same in incognito/private mode and even when browser data is purged. FingerprintJS is available under the MIT license. Demo Visit to see your visitor identifier. Now, try visiting the same page in private/incognito mode and notice that the visitor identifier remains the same ! Installation npm CDN Run this code Resources 📕 API Reference ⚛️ Sample usage with React on the StackBlitz platform 🔑…
read the full fingerprintjs overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is webtorrent or fingerprintjs more popular?
webtorrent has 31,465 GitHub stars and fingerprintjs has 28,675. webtorrent has the larger community by that measure.
Are webtorrent and fingerprintjs free?
Both are open source. webtorrent is licensed under MIT and fingerprintjs under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webtorrent and fingerprintjs?
webtorrent is written in JavaScript and fingerprintjs 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, webtorrent or fingerprintjs?
Choose webtorrent if you want the larger community (31,465 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose fingerprintjs if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.