head to head · open source
netbeans vs Squircle-CE
netbeans has 3,141 GitHub stars, 934 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Squircle-CE has 1,879 stars, 164 forks, 77 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. netbeans leads on adoption by 67% (3,141 vs 1,879 stars). netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0; Squircle-CE is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. netbeans has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Squircle-CE 9%. netbeans was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (code-editor), 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 | Squircle-CE | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.1K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 934 | ⑂ 164 |
| 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 Squircle-CE if
- You want the Squircle-CE feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Squircle-CE 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 Squircle-CE
Squircle CE is a free, open source, multi language code editor for Android, written in Kotlin and released under the Apache 2.0 licence, intended for anyone who needs to read, navigate and edit source code on a phone or tablet.
read the full Squircle-CE overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is netbeans or Squircle-CE more popular?
netbeans has 3,141 GitHub stars and Squircle-CE has 1,879. netbeans has the larger community by that measure.
Are netbeans and Squircle-CE free?
Both are open source. netbeans is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Squircle-CE under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between netbeans and Squircle-CE?
netbeans is written in Java and Squircle-CE in Kotlin. 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 Squircle-CE?
Choose netbeans if you want the larger community (3,141 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Squircle-CE if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.