head to head · open source
netbeans vs CrossUI
netbeans has 3,140 GitHub stars, 939 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. CrossUI has 2,030 stars, 36 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. netbeans leads on adoption by 55% (3,140 vs 2,030 stars). netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0; CrossUI is written in JavaScript under MIT. netbeans has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, CrossUI 2%. netbeans was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ide), 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
| netbeans | CrossUI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.1K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-01 | 2026-06-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 939 | ⑂ 36 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick netbeans if
- You weight community size — 3.1K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick CrossUI if
- You want the CrossUI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and CrossUI fits your workflow better
About netbeans
Apache NetBeans is an Apache 2.0 open source development environment, tooling platform and application framework written in Java, aimed at developers who write and run Java applications and at teams that build desktop software on top of the NetBeans Platform.
read the full netbeans overview →
About CrossUI
CrossUI is a free, cross browser JavaScript framework for building rich single page web applications, paired with a visual editor that writes edits directly into your real React source code.
read the full CrossUI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is netbeans or CrossUI more popular?
netbeans has 3,140 GitHub stars and CrossUI has 2,030. netbeans has the larger community by that measure.
Are netbeans and CrossUI free?
Both are open source. netbeans is licensed under Apache-2.0 and CrossUI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between netbeans and CrossUI?
netbeans is written in Java and CrossUI in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, netbeans or CrossUI?
Choose netbeans if you want the larger community (3,140 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose CrossUI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.