head to head · open source
slate vs Helium
slate has 31,748 GitHub stars, 3,302 forks, 653 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Helium has 20,739 stars, 579 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped yesterday. slate leads on adoption by 53% (31,748 vs 20,739 stars). slate is written in TypeScript under MIT; Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. slate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Helium 3%. Helium was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| slate | Helium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 21K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 579 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick slate if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Helium if
- You want the Helium feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Helium fits your workflow better
About slate
Slate is a completely customizable framework for building rich text editors, written in TypeScript and released under the MIT licence, for JavaScript and React developers who need an editor that goes well past what a fixed schema can offer.
read the full slate overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is slate or Helium more popular?
slate has 31,748 GitHub stars and Helium has 20,739. slate has the larger community by that measure.
Are slate and Helium free?
Both are open source. slate is licensed under MIT and Helium under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between slate and Helium?
slate is written in TypeScript and Helium in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, slate or Helium?
Choose slate if you want the larger community (31,748 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Helium if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.