head to head · open source
netbeans vs web-maker
netbeans has 3,139 GitHub stars, 933 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. web-maker has 2,699 stars, 324 forks, 120 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. netbeans leads on adoption by 16% (3,139 vs 2,699 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 | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 933 | ⑂ 324 |
| 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 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 web-maker
Web Maker is an MIT licensed, offline frontend code editor and playground for HTML, CSS and JavaScript experiments that runs entirely on the user's own system, and it is aimed at frontend developers who want CodePen style quick prototyping without a network connection.
read the full web-maker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is netbeans or web-maker more popular?
netbeans has 3,139 GitHub stars and web-maker has 2,699. 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 (3,139 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.