head to head · open source
Onlook vs Alokai
Onlook has 26,752 GitHub stars, 2,101 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. Alokai has 10,942 stars, 2,064 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Onlook leads on adoption by 144% (26,752 vs 10,942 stars). Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Alokai is written in various languages under a licence not recorded in this registry. Onlook has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Alokai 19%. Onlook was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Onlook | Alokai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 11K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | — |
| Last push | 2026-08-25 | 2026-06-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Onlook if
- You weight community size — 27K 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 Alokai if
- You want the Alokai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You evaluated both and Alokai fits your workflow better
About Onlook
Onlook is an open source, Apache 2.0 visual editor for Next.js and TailwindCSS projects that lets designers and developers edit a running React app in the browser while the underlying code changes in real time.
read the full Onlook overview →
About Alokai
Alokai is an open source ecosystem of developer tools and a Frontend as a Service solution for composable commerce. It lives in the headless commerce ecosystem, where ecommerce backends expose APIs and separate frontend applications deliver storefronts.
read the full Alokai overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Frameworks & Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Frameworks & Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Onlook or Alokai more popular?
Onlook has 26,752 GitHub stars and Alokai has 10,942. Onlook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Onlook and Alokai free?
Both are open source. Onlook is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Alokai has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Onlook and Alokai?
Onlook is written in TypeScript and Alokai in various languages. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Onlook or Alokai?
Choose Onlook if you want the larger community (26,752 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Alokai if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.