head to head · open source
neko vs lms
neko has 22,315 GitHub stars, 1,628 forks, 151 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. lms has 1,673 stars, 88 forks, 82 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. neko leads on adoption by 1,234% (22,315 vs 1,673 stars). neko is written in Go under Apache-2.0; lms is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. neko has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, lms 5%. lms was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| neko | lms | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-10 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 88 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick neko if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lms if
- You want the lms feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and lms fits your workflow better
About neko
Neko is a self hosted virtual browser that runs inside a Docker container and streams its desktop to several people at once over WebRTC, built for developers testing web applications, privacy conscious users, and teams who want to browse, watch or present together in one shared session.
About lms
LMS is a self hosted music streaming server written in C++ and licensed under GPL 3.0. It exposes a local music collection through a web interface, so users can access their music from anywhere.
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Frequently asked questions
Is neko or lms more popular?
neko has 22,315 GitHub stars and lms has 1,673. neko has the larger community by that measure.
Are neko and lms free?
Both are open source. neko is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lms under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between neko and lms?
neko is written in Go and lms in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, neko or lms?
Choose neko if you want the larger community (22,315 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lms if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.