head to head · open source
Helium vs Betterfox
Helium has 20,739 GitHub stars, 579 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Betterfox has 10,862 stars, 258 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Helium leads on adoption by 91% (20,739 vs 10,862 stars). Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; Betterfox is written in JavaScript under MIT. Helium has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Betterfox 2%. Helium was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (privacy, web-browser), 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
| Helium | Betterfox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 11K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 579 | ⑂ 258 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Helium if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Betterfox if
- You want the Betterfox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Betterfox fits your workflow better
About Helium
Helium is an open source desktop web browser built around the Chromium project. It lives in the Chromium browser ecosystem and is published as a C++ project under the GPL 3.0 license, with imported code retaining its original license. The project describes itself as private, fast, and honest, and as a privacy first browser with ad blocking and no bloat.
read the full Helium overview →
About Betterfox
Betterfox is an MIT licensed user.js preference file that makes Mozilla Firefox more private, secure, and fast without adding third party code, and it targets everyday Firefox users who want hardened defaults without site breakage.
read the full Betterfox overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Helium or Betterfox more popular?
Helium has 20,739 GitHub stars and Betterfox has 10,862. Helium has the larger community by that measure.
Are Helium and Betterfox free?
Both are open source. Helium is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Betterfox under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Helium and Betterfox?
Helium is written in C++ and Betterfox 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, Helium or Betterfox?
Choose Helium if you want the larger community (20,739 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Betterfox if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.