head to head · open source
Karakeep vs Linkding
Karakeep has 29,110 GitHub stars, 1,516 forks, 726 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Linkding has 11,196 stars, 616 forks, 221 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Karakeep leads on adoption by 160% (29,110 vs 11,196 stars). Karakeep is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Linkding is written in Python under MIT. Karakeep has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Linkding 6%. Karakeep was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (bookmark-manager, bookmarks, self-hosted), 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
| Karakeep | Linkding | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 11K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 616 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Karakeep if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Linkding if
- You want the Linkding feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Linkding fits your workflow better
About Karakeep
Karakeep is a self hostable bookmark and content management application designed for users who collect links, notes, images, and PDFs across devices. It originated as Hoarder and evolved into a full featured tool for personal knowledge management, with strong emphasis on AI assisted organization and long term content preservation. Built with Next.js, it runs in the web browser and mobile apps, supporting both local and cloud hosted AI models.
read the full Karakeep overview →
About Linkding
Linkding is an open source, self hosted bookmark manager written in Python and built on the Django web framework. It is released under the MIT license and is presented as a minimal, fast tool that is easy to set up using Docker. The project lives in the self hosted productivity and bookmark management ecosystem, with Firefox and Chrome extensions, a Progressive Web App option, a REST API, and community projects such as mobile apps and libraries.
read the full Linkding overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Karakeep or Linkding more popular?
Karakeep has 29,110 GitHub stars and Linkding has 11,196. Karakeep has the larger community by that measure.
Are Karakeep and Linkding free?
Both are open source. Karakeep is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Linkding under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Karakeep and Linkding?
Karakeep is written in TypeScript and Linkding in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Karakeep or Linkding?
Choose Karakeep if you want the larger community (29,110 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Linkding if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.