head to head · open source
halo vs mesh
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars, 10,329 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mesh has 593 stars, 123 forks, 135 open issues and last shipped yesterday. halo leads on adoption by 6,609% (39,787 vs 593 stars). halo is written in Java under GPL-3.0; mesh is written in Java under Apache-2.0. halo has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, mesh 21%. mesh 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| halo | mesh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 593 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 123 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick halo if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- 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 halo
Halo is an open source, Java based website building tool licensed under GPL 3.0 that lets individuals and teams publish and run a blog, knowledge base, corporate website, or online store from infrastructure they control.
About mesh
Gentics Mesh is an open source, Java based headless content management system that gives developers content APIs instead of a bundled front end, and it is aimed at development teams building websites, mobile apps, IoT applications, smart devices and digital signage solutions.
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Content Management Systems (CMS) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Content Management Systems (CMS) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is halo or mesh more popular?
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars and mesh has 593. halo has the larger community by that measure.
Are halo and mesh free?
Both are open source. halo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and mesh under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between halo and mesh?
halo is written in Java 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, halo or mesh?
Choose halo if you want the larger community (39,787 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose mesh if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.