head to head · open source
Ladybird vs GhostText
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars, 3,194 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GhostText has 3,649 stars, 135 forks, 40 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Ladybird leads on adoption by 1,731% (66,807 vs 3,649 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; GhostText is written in JavaScript under MIT. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, GhostText 4%. 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 | GhostText | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-05-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 135 |
| 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 GhostText if
- You want the GhostText feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and GhostText 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 GhostText
Use your text editor to write in your browser. Everything you type in the editor will be instantly updated in the browser (and vice versa). Visit the ghosttext.fregante.com for more details and troubleshooting. If you love GhostText, consider sponsoring or hiring the maintainer @fregante Installation 1. Install your browser extension: [link chrome]: 'Version published on Chrome Web Store' [link firefox]: 'Version published on Mozilla Add ons' [link safari]: 'Version published on the Mac App Store' [ ][link chrome] [ ][link chrome] also compatible with [ ][link chrome] [ ][link chrome] [ ][link firefox] [ ][link…
read the full GhostText overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or GhostText more popular?
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars and GhostText has 3,649. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and GhostText free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and GhostText under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and GhostText?
Ladybird is written in C++ and GhostText 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 GhostText?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,807 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose GhostText if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.