head to head · open source
jest vs Hercules
jest has 45,472 GitHub stars, 6,717 forks, 228 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hercules has 1,210 stars, 202 forks, 39 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. jest leads on adoption by 3,658% (45,472 vs 1,210 stars). jest is written in TypeScript under MIT; Hercules is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. jest has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Hercules 17%. jest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| jest | Hercules | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 202 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick jest if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Hercules if
- You want the Hercules feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Hercules fits your workflow better
About jest
🃏 Delightful JavaScript Testing 👩🏻💻 Developer Ready : A comprehensive JavaScript testing solution. Works out of the box for most JavaScript projects. 🏃🏽 Instant Feedback : Fast, interactive watch mode only runs test files related to changed files. 📸 Snapshot Testing : Capture snapshots of large objects to simplify testing and to analyze how they change over time. See more on jestjs.io Table of Contents Getting Started Running from command line Additional Configuration Generate a basic configuration file Using Babel Using webpack Using Vite Using Parcel Using Typescript Documentation Badge Contributing…
About Hercules
💪 Hercules Testing modern web applications can be difficult, with frequent changes and complex features making it hard to keep up. That's where Hercules comes in. Hercules is the world's first open source testing agent, built to handle the toughest testing tasks so you don't have to. It turns simple, easy to write Gherkin steps into fully automated end to end tests—no coding skills needed. Whether you're working with tricky enterprise platforms or running tests in your CI/CD pipeline, Hercules adapts to your needs and takes care of the details. With Hercules, testing becomes simple, reliable, and efficient…
read the full Hercules overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is jest or Hercules more popular?
jest has 45,472 GitHub stars and Hercules has 1,210. jest has the larger community by that measure.
Are jest and Hercules free?
Both are open source. jest is licensed under MIT and Hercules under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between jest and Hercules?
jest is written in TypeScript and Hercules in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, jest or Hercules?
Choose jest if you want the larger community (45,472 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Hercules if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.