head to head · open source
halo vs next-wp
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars, 10,329 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped yesterday. next-wp has 1,296 stars, 320 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. halo leads on adoption by 2,970% (39,787 vs 1,296 stars). halo is written in Java under GPL-3.0; next-wp is written in TypeScript under MIT. halo has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, next-wp 25%. halo 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
| halo | next-wp | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 320 |
| 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 next-wp if
- You want the next-wp feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and next-wp 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 next-wp
Next WP is an MIT licensed TypeScript starter for a headless WordPress site built with the Next.js App Router and React Server Components. It combines a WordPress content source with a Next.js frontend using Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui components, and routes for posts, pages, authors, categories, tags, search, sitemap, and Open Graph images.
read the full next-wp overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is halo or next-wp more popular?
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars and next-wp has 1,296. halo has the larger community by that measure.
Are halo and next-wp free?
Both are open source. halo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and next-wp under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between halo and next-wp?
halo is written in Java and next-wp 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, halo or next-wp?
Choose halo if you want the larger community (39,787 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose next-wp if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.