head to head · open source
Helium vs BrowserOS
Helium has 22,337 GitHub stars, 683 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. BrowserOS has 14,245 stars, 1,531 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Helium leads on adoption by 57% (22,337 vs 14,245 stars). Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; BrowserOS is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Helium has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, BrowserOS 11%. BrowserOS was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, chromium), 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 | BrowserOS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 14K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 683 | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Helium if
- You weight community size — 22K 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 BrowserOS if
- You want the BrowserOS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and BrowserOS fits your workflow better
About Helium
Helium The Chromium based web browser made for people, with love. Privacy first with unbiased ad blocking. No bloat and no noise. helium.computer Downloads [!NOTE] Helium is currently in beta, so unexpected issues may occur. Please report them if they haven't already been reported. The easiest way to download Helium is helium.computer. It'll pick a compatible binary for your platform automatically. The same releases can also be downloaded from source on GitHub: Latest macOS release Latest Linux release Latest Windows release Helium repos All Helium packaging, tooling, services, and components are open source and…
read the full Helium overview →
About BrowserOS
Website · Docs · Enterprise Free · Open source · Everything runs on your machine A second browser, just for your AI agents. Import your logins from Chrome in one click, connect Claude Code, Codex, or any MCP agent, and hand off your web tasks. Agents run in parallel in their own tabs. You watch live, or replay any session like a video. BrowserOS neo is not a Chrome replacement. It is a secondary browser that sits next to Chrome, made friendly to agents. Get started 1. Install BrowserOS neo Prefer a direct download? Grab it for macOS or Windows. 2. Import from Chrome One click brings over your logins, bookmarks…
read the full BrowserOS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Helium or BrowserOS more popular?
Helium has 22,337 GitHub stars and BrowserOS has 14,245. Helium has the larger community by that measure.
Are Helium and BrowserOS free?
Both are open source. Helium is licensed under GPL-3.0 and BrowserOS under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Helium and BrowserOS?
Helium is written in C++ and BrowserOS 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, Helium or BrowserOS?
Choose Helium if you want the larger community (22,337 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose BrowserOS if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.