head to head · open source
uBlock vs Helium
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars, 4,427 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Helium has 22,283 stars, 680 forks, 490 open issues and last shipped yesterday. uBlock leads on adoption by 210% (69,033 vs 22,283 stars). uBlock is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; Helium is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. uBlock has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Helium 3%. uBlock 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.
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Side by side
| uBlock | Helium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 69K | ★ 22K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 680 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick uBlock if
- You weight community size — 69K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 uBlock
[![Badge Commits]][Commit Rate] [![Badge Issues]][Issues] [![Badge Localization]][Crowdin] [![Badge License]][License] [![Badge NPM]][NPM] [![Badge Mozilla]][Mozilla] ![Badge Chrome] [![Badge Edge]][Edge] uBlock Origin (uBO) GitHub Releases Stable and development versions on Firefox, Chromium MV2, and Thunderbird. Must be placed manually into web browsers; the Chromium and Thunderbird versions usually won't auto update. Related: uBlock Origin Lite uBlock Origin (uBO) is a CPU and memory efficient [wide spectrum content blocker][Blocking] for Chromium and Firefox. It blocks ads, trackers, coin miners, popups…
read the full uBlock overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or Helium more popular?
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars and Helium has 22,283. uBlock has the larger community by that measure.
Are uBlock and Helium free?
Both are open source. uBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Helium under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between uBlock and Helium?
uBlock is written in JavaScript 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, uBlock or Helium?
Choose uBlock if you want the larger community (69,033 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Helium if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.