head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs helicalinsight
Sa-Token has 19,064 GitHub stars, 2,911 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. helicalinsight has 1,079 stars, 770 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 1,667% (19,064 vs 1,079 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; helicalinsight is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, helicalinsight 71%. Sa-Token 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
| Sa-Token | helicalinsight | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-27 | 2026-09-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 770 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Sa-Token if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick helicalinsight if
- You want the helicalinsight feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and helicalinsight fits your workflow better
About Sa-Token
Sa Token is a free, open source, one stop Java authentication and authorization framework, licensed under Apache 2.0, that gives Java and Spring Boot developers login authentication, permission checks, distributed sessions, single sign on, OAuth2.0, gateway authentication, JWT integration, API key authorization and API parameter signing from a single dependency.
read the full Sa-Token overview →
About helicalinsight
Helical Insight is a free, self hosted, open source BI platform for teams that want dashboards, pixel perfect paginated reports, and AI conversational analytics without buying a commercial BI licence.
read the full helicalinsight overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or helicalinsight more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,064 GitHub stars and helicalinsight has 1,079. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and helicalinsight free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and helicalinsight under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and helicalinsight?
Sa-Token is written in Java and helicalinsight in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Sa-Token or helicalinsight?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,064 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose helicalinsight if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.