head to head · open source
Mole vs BleachBit
Mole has 67,621 GitHub stars, 2,377 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BleachBit has 6,930 stars, 455 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mole leads on adoption by 876% (67,621 vs 6,930 stars). Mole is written in Shell under GPL-3.0; BleachBit is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Mole has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, BleachBit 7%. Mole was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cleaner), 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Mole | BleachBit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 455 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mole if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BleachBit if
- You want the BleachBit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and BleachBit fits your workflow better
About Mole
Mole is an open source macOS utility that combines system cleanup, application management, and live monitoring into a single native app and CLI tool. It runs on macOS 12+ for both Intel and Apple Silicon, offering a unified interface for reclaiming disk space, uninstalling apps thoroughly, visualizing storage, and tracking real time system health. Built in Shell and licensed under GPL 3.0, it aggregates functionality found across several paid tools—CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk, and iStat Menus—into one binary.
About BleachBit
BleachBit is a free, GPL 3.0 system cleaner written in Python that deletes files on Windows and Linux to free disk space and protect privacy, made for desktop users and administrators who want a cross platform alternative to commercial cleanup tools.
read the full BleachBit overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More System Cleanup & Optimization projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the System Cleanup & Optimization field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mole or BleachBit more popular?
Mole has 67,621 GitHub stars and BleachBit has 6,930. Mole has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mole and BleachBit free?
Both are open source. Mole is licensed under GPL-3.0 and BleachBit under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mole and BleachBit?
Mole is written in Shell and BleachBit 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, Mole or BleachBit?
Choose Mole if you want the larger community (67,621 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose BleachBit if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.