head to head · open source
univer vs free4chat
univer has 22,875 GitHub stars, 1,920 forks, 151 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. free4chat has 1,226 stars, 167 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. univer leads on adoption by 1,766% (22,875 vs 1,226 stars). univer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; free4chat is written in TypeScript under MIT. univer has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, free4chat 14%. univer 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
| univer | free4chat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 167 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick univer if
- You weight community size — 23K 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 univer
A full stack, isomorphic office SDK for building spreadsheets, documents, and presentations. Build embeddable productivity experiences with a plugin architecture, Canvas based rendering, a formula engine, and one Facade API that works in the browser and on Node.js. English 简体中文 繁體中文 日本語 한국어 Español 📖 Documentation ✨ Showcase 📘 API Reference 📝 Blog ✨ What is Univer? Univer is an open source SDK for creating office applications inside your own product. It gives you the building blocks for spreadsheet, document, and presentation experiences without forcing you into a hosted app or a fixed UI. Use Univer when you…
read the full univer overview →
About free4chat
free4chat www.free4.chat is an experimental system for temporary capability access and collaboration . Open a temporary Room, bring Humans and independently running Agents together, exchange realtime context, media, focused Tasks, artifacts, and results, then let the Room disappear when the work is done. No account or permanent workspace is required. ⚠️ Personal technical/product testbed. Use at your own risk. Free4Chat is intentionally still exploring its product shape. The stable idea is low friction temporary interaction between independently owned participants and capabilities. What stays stable Temporary by…
read the full free4chat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is univer or free4chat more popular?
univer has 22,875 GitHub stars and free4chat has 1,226. univer has the larger community by that measure.
Are univer and free4chat free?
Both are open source. univer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and free4chat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between univer and free4chat?
univer 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, univer or free4chat?
Choose univer if you want the larger community (22,875 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose free4chat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.