head to head · open source
glance vs Loops
glance has 37,981 GitHub stars, 1,506 forks, 318 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Loops has 465 stars, 63 forks, 42 open issues and last shipped yesterday. glance leads on adoption by 8,068% (37,981 vs 465 stars). glance is written in Go under AGPL-3.0; Loops is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. glance has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Loops 14%. glance was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| glance | Loops | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 465 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 63 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick glance if
- You weight community size — 38K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Loops if
- You want the Loops feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Loops fits your workflow better
About glance
Glance Install • Configuration • Discord • Sponsor Community widgets • Preconfigured pages • Themes A lightweight, highly customizable dashboard that displays your feeds in a beautiful, streamlined interface Features Various widgets RSS feeds Subreddit posts Hacker News posts Weather forecasts YouTube channel uploads Twitch channels Market prices Docker containers status Server stats Custom widgets and many more... Fast and lightweight Low memory usage Few dependencies Minimal vanilla JS Single Configuration Configuration is done through YAML files, to learn more about how the layout works, how to add more pages…
read the full glance overview →
About Loops
Loops The short video sharing platform for the social web. Federated, open source, creator friendly, and powered by ActivityPub . Website · API Documentation · Installation · Server List About Loops Loops is a federated, open source platform for sharing short videos. It gives creators and communities a modern short video experience without locking them into a centralized platform. This repository contains the Loops server and web application. Communities can operate their own Loops instance while connecting with people across Loops, Pixelfed, Mastodon, and other compatible ActivityPub platforms. Highlights…
read the full Loops overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is glance or Loops more popular?
glance has 37,981 GitHub stars and Loops has 465. glance has the larger community by that measure.
Are glance and Loops free?
Both are open source. glance is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Loops under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between glance and Loops?
glance is written in Go and Loops in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, glance or Loops?
Choose glance if you want the larger community (37,981 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Loops if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.