head to head · open source
Ladybird vs Midori Browser
Ladybird has 66,237 GitHub stars, 3,163 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Midori Browser has 396 stars, 26 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ladybird leads on adoption by 16,627% (66,237 vs 396 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 | ★ 66K | ★ 396 |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 26 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ladybird if
- You weight community size — 66K 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 is a truly independent web browser and browser engine, written from scratch in C++ rather than as a fork of any existing engine, and it is built for developers who want to work on a browser engine based on web standards while it remains in a pre alpha state.
read the full Ladybird overview →
About Midori Browser
Midori Browser is an MPL 2.0, Gecko based web browser for Windows, Linux, and macOS that ships privacy oriented defaults and a built in protection extension, aimed at users who want a lightweight Firefox derived browser rather than a Chromium or WebKit one.
read the full Midori Browser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or Midori Browser more popular?
Ladybird has 66,237 GitHub stars and Midori Browser has 396. 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 (66,237 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.