head to head · open source
Ladybird vs terminal-browser
Ladybird has 66,240 GitHub stars, 3,162 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. terminal-browser has 3,081 stars, 145 forks, 64 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Ladybird leads on adoption by 2,050% (66,240 vs 3,081 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; terminal-browser is written in TypeScript under MIT. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, terminal-browser 5%. 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 | terminal-browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 145 |
| 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 terminal-browser if
- You want the terminal-browser feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and terminal-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 terminal-browser
terminal browser is a real Chromium based browser that renders inside a terminal emulator, written in TypeScript under the MIT licence, for developers who live in the terminal and for coding agents that need to see and operate the web.
read the full terminal-browser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or terminal-browser more popular?
Ladybird has 66,240 GitHub stars and terminal-browser has 3,081. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and terminal-browser free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and terminal-browser under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and terminal-browser?
Ladybird is written in C++ and terminal-browser 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 terminal-browser?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,240 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose terminal-browser if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.