head to head · open source
netbeans vs web-maker
netbeans has 3,145 GitHub stars, 944 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. web-maker has 2,708 stars, 326 forks, 120 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. netbeans leads on adoption by 16% (3,145 vs 2,708 stars). netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0; web-maker is written in JavaScript under MIT. netbeans has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, web-maker 12%. 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 | web-maker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.1K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 944 | ⑂ 326 |
| 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 web-maker if
- You want the web-maker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and web-maker fits your workflow better
About netbeans
Apache NetBeans Apache NetBeans is an open source development environment, tooling platform, and application framework. Build status GitHub actions Apache Jenkins: Linux: Windows: License Status ( Apache Rat and ant verify libs and licenses ) Requirements Git Ant JDK 21 or above (to build and run NetBeans) Notes: NetBeans license violation checks are managed via the rat exclusions.txt file. Set JAVA HOME and ANT HOME appropriately or leave them undefined. Building NetBeans Build the default release config (See the cluster.config property.) Build the basic project (mainly Java features): Build the full project…
read the full netbeans overview →
About web-maker
Web Maker 🕸🛠 Web Maker is an offline playground for your web experiments. Something like CodePen or JSFiddle, but much more faster and works offline because it runs completely on your system. Open Web App (Recommended: More features. More fun!) or Install Chrome extension Features Supports Preprocessors: HTML (Pug & Markdown), CSS (SCSS, LESS & Stylus, Atomic CSS) & JavaScript (ES6, TypeScript & CoffeeScript) Works offline Quick creation (3 panemode) & good old Files mode Inbuilt Console Multi player collab mode Asset hosting (Local and Cloud storage) Save and load your creations Auto save feature Code auto…
read the full web-maker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is netbeans or web-maker more popular?
netbeans has 3,145 GitHub stars and web-maker has 2,708. netbeans has the larger community by that measure.
Are netbeans and web-maker free?
Both are open source. netbeans is licensed under Apache-2.0 and web-maker under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between netbeans and web-maker?
netbeans is written in Java and web-maker 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 web-maker?
Choose netbeans if you want the larger community (3,145 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose web-maker if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.