head to head · open source
Kilo vs lite-xl
Kilo has 27,853 GitHub stars, 3,335 forks, 586 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lite-xl has 6,506 stars, 328 forks, 330 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Kilo leads on adoption by 328% (27,853 vs 6,506 stars). Kilo is written in TypeScript under MIT; lite-xl is written in Lua under MIT. Kilo has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, lite-xl 5%. Kilo 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
| Kilo | lite-xl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 328 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kilo if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lite-xl if
- You want the lite-xl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and lite-xl fits your workflow better
About Kilo
English 简体中文 繁體中文 한국어 Deutsch Español Français Italiano Dansk 日本語 Polski Русский Bosanski العربية Norsk Português (Brasil) ไทย Türkçe Українська বাংলা Ελληνικά Tiếng Việt The open source coding agent for building with AI in VS Code, JetBrains, or the CLI. Kilo Code is an AI coding agent that meets you everywhere you work: VS Code, JetBrains, and the CLI. It's open source with open pricing. You pick from 500+ models, switch between them mid task, and pay the model provider's rate with zero markup. No API keys required to start. Installation Pick where you want to run Kilo. VS Code Install the Kilo Code extension…
About lite-xl
Lite XL [![CI]]( [![Discord Badge Image]]( ![screenshot dark] A lightweight text editor written in Lua, adapted from [lite]. [Get Lite XL] — Download for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. [Get plugins] — Add additional functionality, adapted for Lite XL. [Get color themes] — Add additional colors themes. Please refer to our [website] for the user and developer documentation, including [build] instructions details. A quick build guide is described below. Lite XL has support for high DPI display on Windows and Linux and, since 1.16.7 release, it supports retina displays on macOS. Please note that Lite XL is compatible…
read the full lite-xl overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More IDEs & Code Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the IDEs & Code Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kilo or lite-xl more popular?
Kilo has 27,853 GitHub stars and lite-xl has 6,506. Kilo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kilo and lite-xl free?
Both are open source. Kilo is licensed under MIT and lite-xl under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kilo and lite-xl?
Kilo is written in TypeScript and lite-xl in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Kilo or lite-xl?
Choose Kilo if you want the larger community (27,853 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose lite-xl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.