head to head · open source
halo vs typo3
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars, 10,329 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped yesterday. typo3 has 1,208 stars, 707 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped yesterday. halo leads on adoption by 3,194% (39,787 vs 1,208 stars). halo is written in Java under GPL-3.0; typo3 is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. halo has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, typo3 59%. typo3 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.
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Side by side
| halo | typo3 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 707 |
| 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 typo3 if
- You want the typo3 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and typo3 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 typo3
TYPO3 is an open source, PHP based enterprise content management framework, released under the GNU General Public License, and built for agencies, integrators and in house teams that need to run large, extensible websites on their own infrastructure.
read the full typo3 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is halo or typo3 more popular?
halo has 39,787 GitHub stars and typo3 has 1,208. halo has the larger community by that measure.
Are halo and typo3 free?
Both are open source. halo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and typo3 under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between halo and typo3?
halo is written in Java and typo3 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, halo or typo3?
Choose halo if you want the larger community (39,787 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose typo3 if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.