head to head · open source
jest vs Hercules
jest has 45,560 GitHub stars, 6,734 forks, 228 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hercules has 1,180 stars, 194 forks, 39 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. jest leads on adoption by 3,761% (45,560 vs 1,180 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 16%. 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 | ★ 46K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-11 | 2026-08-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 194 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick jest if
- You weight community size — 46K 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
Jest is a delightful, developer ready JavaScript testing framework for writing and running tests in JavaScript and TypeScript projects.
About Hercules
Hercules is an open source, AGPL 3.0 testing agent that turns plain Gherkin feature files into automated end to end UI, API, security, accessibility and visual tests for QA engineers, developers and platform teams who need browser level coverage without writing or maintaining test code.
read the full Hercules overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is jest or Hercules more popular?
jest has 45,560 GitHub stars and Hercules has 1,180. 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 (45,560 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Hercules if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.