head to head · open source
CryptPad vs IronCalc
CryptPad has 7,920 GitHub stars, 849 forks, 401 open issues and last shipped yesterday. IronCalc has 4,163 stars, 183 forks, 256 open issues and last shipped yesterday. CryptPad leads on adoption by 90% (7,920 vs 4,163 stars). CryptPad is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; IronCalc is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. CryptPad has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, IronCalc 4%. CryptPad 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
| CryptPad | IronCalc | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.9K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 849 | ⑂ 183 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick CryptPad if
- You weight community size — 7.9K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick IronCalc if
- You want the IronCalc feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and IronCalc fits your workflow better
About CryptPad
CryptPad is an open source collaboration suite built around end to end encryption, written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript and real time collaboration ecosystem, using ChainPad to synchronize changes to documents in real time. The suite covers documents, sheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, code, rich text, and whiteboards, all reachable from a single CryptDrive, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Google Docs.
read the full CryptPad overview →
About IronCalc
IronCalc is a spreadsheet engine and set of tools. It is the main engine of the IronCalc ecosystem, and it lives in the Rust open source spreadsheet ecosystem. The project provides a work in progress engine, an xlsx reader, and an xlsx writer. It is designed to be embedded, self hosted, or run in the browser.
read the full IronCalc overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CryptPad or IronCalc more popular?
CryptPad has 7,920 GitHub stars and IronCalc has 4,163. CryptPad has the larger community by that measure.
Are CryptPad and IronCalc free?
Both are open source. CryptPad is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and IronCalc under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between CryptPad and IronCalc ?
CryptPad is written in JavaScript and IronCalc in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, CryptPad or IronCalc ?
Choose CryptPad if you want the larger community (7,920 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose IronCalc if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.