head to head · open source
Ladybird vs Flow
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars, 3,194 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Flow has 1,092 stars, 61 forks, 59 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. Ladybird leads on adoption by 6,018% (66,807 vs 1,092 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; Flow is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Flow 6%. Ladybird was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-05-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 61 |
| 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 Flow if
- You want the Flow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Flow 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 Flow
Flow Browser A modern, tabbed web browser with Chrome extension support—built on Electron. Overview Flow Browser is a lightweight, feature rich web browser that combines the power of Chromium with a clean, modern interface. Built on Electron, it offers full support for Chrome extensions, making it a versatile alternative to mainstream browsers. Install Choose the file you need and download from GitHub Releases. Screenshots Features Profiles : Multiple profiles support, allowing you to use different settings and extensions for each profile. Spaces : Multiple spaces support, allowing you to organize your tabs into…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or Flow more popular?
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars and Flow has 1,092. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and Flow free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Flow under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and Flow?
Ladybird is written in C++ and Flow 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, Ladybird or Flow?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,807 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Flow if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.