head to head · open source
Huly vs Colanode
Huly has 28,042 GitHub stars, 2,187 forks, 849 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Colanode has 5,183 stars, 333 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. Huly leads on adoption by 441% (28,042 vs 5,183 stars). Huly is written in TypeScript under EPL-2.0; Colanode is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Huly has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Colanode 6%. Huly was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (chat-application), 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
| Huly | Colanode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | EPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-04-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 333 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Huly if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the EPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Colanode if
- You want the Colanode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Colanode fits your workflow better
About Huly
Huly Platform ⭐️ Your star shines on us. Star us on GitHub! [!IMPORTANT] Hosted Huly is shutting down — please migrate your data. The hosted Huly service is being discontinued because its hosting is no longer being funded. If you keep important data on the hosted platform, export and back it up, and migrate as soon as possible — we can help you move to either a self hosted setup or a hosted option. Not sure how? Follow the backup & restore guide for step by step instructions on downloading your backup and restoring it elsewhere. The service shutdown is expected on July 20 . Please make sure to export and migrate…
About Colanode
Colanode Open source & local first collaboration workspace that you can self host Colanode is an all in one platform for easy collaboration, built to prioritize your data privacy and control. Designed with a local first approach, it helps teams communicate, organize, and manage projects—whether online or offline. With Colanode, you get the flexibility of modern collaboration tools, plus the peace of mind that comes from owning your data. What can you do with Colanode? Real Time Chat: Stay connected with instant messaging for teams and individuals. Rich Text Pages: Create documents, wikis, and notes using an…
read the full Colanode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Huly or Colanode more popular?
Huly has 28,042 GitHub stars and Colanode has 5,183. Huly has the larger community by that measure.
Are Huly and Colanode free?
Both are open source. Huly is licensed under EPL-2.0 and Colanode under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Huly and Colanode?
Huly is written in TypeScript and Colanode in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Huly or Colanode?
Choose Huly if you want the larger community (28,042 stars) or its EPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Colanode if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.