head to head · open source
Ladybird vs WebLibre
Ladybird has 66,237 GitHub stars, 3,163 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WebLibre has 985 stars, 34 forks, 62 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ladybird leads on adoption by 6,625% (66,237 vs 985 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; WebLibre is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, WebLibre 3%. 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 | WebLibre | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 985 |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 34 |
| 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 WebLibre if
- You want the WebLibre feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and WebLibre 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 WebLibre
WebLibre is a libre, privacy first browser for Android built from scratch on Mozilla's Gecko engine and Mozilla Android Components, aimed at Android users who want familiar everyday browsing without giving up control over how sites, identities, and network connections are separated.
read the full WebLibre overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or WebLibre more popular?
Ladybird has 66,237 GitHub stars and WebLibre has 985. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and WebLibre free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and WebLibre under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and WebLibre?
Ladybird is written in C++ and WebLibre in Dart. 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 WebLibre?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,237 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose WebLibre if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.