head to head · open source
Ladybird vs Midori Browser
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars, 3,194 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Midori Browser has 412 stars, 28 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Ladybird leads on adoption by 16,115% (66,807 vs 412 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; Midori Browser is written in JavaScript under MPL-2.0. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Midori Browser 7%. 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 | Midori Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 412 |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 28 |
| 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 Midori Browser if
- You want the Midori Browser feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Midori Browser 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 Midori Browser
Midori Browser ) Midori Browser is a lightweight, fast, and secure browser that promotes user privacy; it has evolved and is now based on the Gecko engine instead of WebKit. Contents Features Install Midori Build from source Project layout Contributing Documentation and support License Features Privacy oriented defaults and a built in protection extension. Workspace management and a customized new tab page. Custom branding and update configuration. Builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Compatibility with Firefox WebExtensions. Install Midori Debian and Ubuntu For other platforms, download the current installer…
read the full Midori Browser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or Midori Browser more popular?
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars and Midori Browser has 412. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and Midori Browser free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Midori Browser under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and Midori Browser?
Ladybird is written in C++ and Midori Browser 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 Midori Browser?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,807 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Midori Browser if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.