head to head · open source
Helium vs Thorium-Android
Helium has 20,799 GitHub stars, 587 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Thorium-Android has 785 stars, 12 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 28 days ago. Helium leads on adoption by 2,550% (20,799 vs 785 stars). Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; Thorium-Android is written in various languages under BSD-3-Clause. Helium has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, Thorium-Android 2%. Helium was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Helium | Thorium-Android | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 785 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C++ | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 587 | ⑂ 12 |
| 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 Thorium-Android if
- You want the Thorium-Android feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- You evaluated both and Thorium-Android 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 Thorium-Android
Thorium Android is a repository that serves builds of Thorium for Android. It supports both arm32 and arm64 architectures, and the README describes it as a separate repository for Android builds. The project lives in the Android and Chromium ecosystem, because Thorium is a browser, the repository is categorized under Browsers & Extensions, and the topic list includes chromium.
read the full Thorium-Android overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Browsers & Extensions projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Browsers & Extensions field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helium or Thorium-Android more popular?
Helium has 20,799 GitHub stars and Thorium-Android has 785. Helium has the larger community by that measure.
Are Helium and Thorium-Android free?
Both are open source. Helium is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Thorium-Android under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Helium and Thorium-Android?
Helium is written in C++ and Thorium-Android in various languages. 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 Thorium-Android?
Choose Helium if you want the larger community (20,799 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Thorium-Android if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.