head to head · open source
Invidious vs Nuclear
Invidious has 25,830 GitHub stars, 2,896 forks, 480 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nuclear has 18,856 stars, 1,356 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Invidious leads on adoption by 37% (25,830 vs 18,856 stars). Invidious is written in Crystal under AGPL-3.0; Nuclear is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Invidious has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Nuclear 7%. Nuclear 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Invidious | Nuclear | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 19K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Crystal | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Invidious if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Crystal
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Nuclear if
- You want the Nuclear feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Nuclear fits your workflow better
About Invidious
Invidious An open source alternative front end to YouTube Website • Instances list • FAQ • Documentation • Contribute • Donate Chat with us: Screenshots Features User features Lightweight No ads No tracking No JavaScript required Light/Dark themes Customizable homepage Subscriptions independent from Google Notifications for all subscribed channels Audio only mode (with background play on mobile) Support for Reddit comments Available in many languages, thanks to our translators Data import/export Import subscriptions from YouTube, NewPipe and FreeTube Import watch history from YouTube and NewPipe Export…
read the full Invidious overview →
About Nuclear
Nuclear Nuclear is a free, open source music player without ads or tracking. Search for any song or artist, build playlists, and start listening. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Screenshots Nuclear comes with multiple built in themes: Download Grab the latest release for your platform from the Releases page. Features Search for music and stream it from any source Browse artist pages with biographies, discographies, and similar artists Browse album pages with track listings Queue management with shuffle, repeat, and drag and drop reordering Favorites (albums, artists, and tracks) Playlists (create, import…
read the full Nuclear overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Media & Streaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Media & Streaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Invidious or Nuclear more popular?
Invidious has 25,830 GitHub stars and Nuclear has 18,856. Invidious has the larger community by that measure.
Are Invidious and Nuclear free?
Both are open source. Invidious is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Nuclear under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Invidious and Nuclear?
Invidious is written in Crystal and Nuclear 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, Invidious or Nuclear?
Choose Invidious if you want the larger community (25,830 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Nuclear if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.