head to head · open source
hrms vs Horilla
hrms has 8,799 GitHub stars, 2,708 forks, 472 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Horilla has 1,425 stars, 915 forks, 120 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hrms leads on adoption by 517% (8,799 vs 1,425 stars). hrms is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Horilla is written in HTML under LGPL-2.1. hrms has attracted 31% as many forks as stars, Horilla 64%. Horilla was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (attendance, hr, hris, hrms), 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
| hrms | Horilla | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.8K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 915 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick hrms if
- You weight community size — 8.8K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Horilla if
- You want the Horilla feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and Horilla fits your workflow better
About hrms
Frappe HR is an open source Human Resources and Payroll application built and maintained by the Frappe team. It ships as a complete HRMS with over thirteen modules covering employee management, onboarding, leave, payroll, taxation, and more, and it runs on the Frappe Framework, a full stack web application framework written in Python and JavaScript that provides a database abstraction layer, user authentication, and a REST API. The interface is built with Frappe UI, a Vue based component library for single page applications. The project is distributed under the GPL 3.0 license and lives in the ERPNext ecosystem, …
About Horilla
Horilla is an open source Human Resource Management System, or HRMS, built with Django, HTML, JavaScript, jQuery, and HTMX. It lives in the Python and Django ecosystem and is distributed under the LGPL 2.1 license. The project presents itself as a comprehensive HR platform for managing employee records, recruitment, onboarding, attendance, leave, payroll, performance, assets, and helpdesk workflows in one application.
read the full Horilla overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is hrms or Horilla more popular?
hrms has 8,799 GitHub stars and Horilla has 1,425. hrms has the larger community by that measure.
Are hrms and Horilla free?
Both are open source. hrms is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Horilla under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between hrms and Horilla?
hrms is written in Python and Horilla in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, hrms or Horilla?
Choose hrms if you want the larger community (8,799 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Horilla if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.