head to head · open source
Ladybird vs Betterfox
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars, 3,194 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Betterfox has 10,964 stars, 258 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Ladybird leads on adoption by 509% (66,807 vs 10,964 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; Betterfox is written in JavaScript under MIT. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Betterfox 2%. Ladybird 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
| Ladybird | Betterfox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 11K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 258 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ladybird if
- You weight community size — 67K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Betterfox if
- You want the Betterfox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Betterfox fits your workflow better
About Ladybird
Ladybird Ladybird is a truly independent web browser, using a novel engine based on web standards. [!IMPORTANT] Ladybird is in a pre alpha state, and only suitable for use by developers Features We aim to build a complete, usable browser for the modern web. Ladybird uses a multi process architecture with a main UI process, several WebContent renderer processes, an ImageDecoder process, and a RequestServer process. Image decoding and network connections are done out of process to be more robust against malicious content. Each tab has its own renderer process, which is sandboxed from the rest of the system. At the…
read the full Ladybird overview →
About Betterfox
:warning: Do not trust sites that claim to be Betterfox. This page is the only official source. Betterfox about:config tweaks to enhance Mozilla Firefox. :new: Betterfox for Firefox 153 ESR is now available Made for everyday browsing Make Firefox more private and secure — without using third party code. Betterfox is an opinionated preference list inspired by the law of diminishing returns and the minimum effective dose. Required reading 0) Create a backup profile. 1) Download the user.js file here (Right click Save Link As… ). 2) Review both Common Overrides and Optional Hardening to make any necessary changes…
read the full Betterfox overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or Betterfox more popular?
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars and Betterfox has 10,964. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and Betterfox free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Betterfox under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and Betterfox?
Ladybird is written in C++ and Betterfox in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Ladybird or Betterfox?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,807 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Betterfox if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.