head to head · open source
etherpad vs octo-server
etherpad has 18,554 GitHub stars, 3,049 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped yesterday. octo-server has 1,059 stars, 165 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. etherpad leads on adoption by 1,652% (18,554 vs 1,059 stars). etherpad is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; octo-server is written in Go under Apache-2.0. etherpad has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, octo-server 16%. etherpad was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (collaboration), 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
| etherpad | octo-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 165 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick etherpad if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick octo-server if
- You want the octo-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and octo-server fits your workflow better
About etherpad
Etherpad is a real time collaborative document editor, written in TypeScript and released under Apache 2.0, for teams and institutions that need every keystroke attributed to its author, every revision preserved, and all text hosted on infrastructure they control.
read the full etherpad overview →
About octo-server
octo server is the Go backend at the centre of OCTO, an open workplace built for humans and AI agents, and it is aimed at teams that want to self host a collaboration platform where Lobster agents participate in conversations as first class members.
read the full octo-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etherpad or octo-server more popular?
etherpad has 18,554 GitHub stars and octo-server has 1,059. etherpad has the larger community by that measure.
Are etherpad and octo-server free?
Both are open source. etherpad is licensed under Apache-2.0 and octo-server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etherpad and octo-server?
etherpad is written in TypeScript and octo-server in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, etherpad or octo-server?
Choose etherpad if you want the larger community (18,554 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose octo-server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.