head to head · open source
AppSmith vs KeystoneJS
AppSmith has 40,904 GitHub stars, 4,761 forks, 4,467 open issues and last shipped yesterday. KeystoneJS has 9,976 stars, 1,265 forks, 138 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. AppSmith leads on adoption by 310% (40,904 vs 9,976 stars). AppSmith is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; KeystoneJS is written in TypeScript under MIT. AppSmith has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, KeystoneJS 13%. AppSmith 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
| AppSmith | KeystoneJS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 10.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AppSmith if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick KeystoneJS if
- You want the KeystoneJS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and KeystoneJS fits your workflow better
About AppSmith
Appsmith is an open source, Apache 2.0 low code platform written primarily in TypeScript that lets teams build custom internal tools such as admin panels, dashboards, and CRUD applications on top of their own databases and APIs.
read the full AppSmith overview →
About KeystoneJS
KeystoneJS is an open source Node.js CMS and application framework written in TypeScript and licensed under the MIT License. It lives in the Node.js, GraphQL, and React ecosystem, and its GitHub description calls it a headless CMS for Node.js. The project addresses the need to build a custom back end without writing all of the common content management plumbing by hand.
read the full KeystoneJS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppSmith or KeystoneJS more popular?
AppSmith has 40,904 GitHub stars and KeystoneJS has 9,976. AppSmith has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppSmith and KeystoneJS free?
Both are open source. AppSmith is licensed under Apache-2.0 and KeystoneJS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppSmith and KeystoneJS?
AppSmith is written in TypeScript and KeystoneJS 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, AppSmith or KeystoneJS?
Choose AppSmith if you want the larger community (40,904 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose KeystoneJS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.