head to head · open source
Onlook vs Visual-Code-Space
Onlook has 26,801 GitHub stars, 2,108 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Visual-Code-Space has 675 stars, 83 forks, 75 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. Onlook leads on adoption by 3,871% (26,801 vs 675 stars). Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Visual-Code-Space is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. Onlook has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Visual-Code-Space 12%. Visual-Code-Space was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai, editor, ide), 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
| Onlook | Visual-Code-Space | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 675 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-08-25 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 83 |
| 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 Visual-Code-Space if
- You want the Visual-Code-Space feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Visual-Code-Space 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 Visual-Code-Space
Visual Code Space is a free, GPL 3.0 licensed code editor for Android, written in Kotlin, that gives developers a tabbed editing workspace, multi language syntax highlighting and an integrated terminal on a phone or tablet.
read the full Visual-Code-Space overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Onlook or Visual-Code-Space more popular?
Onlook has 26,801 GitHub stars and Visual-Code-Space has 675. Onlook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Onlook and Visual-Code-Space free?
Both are open source. Onlook is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Visual-Code-Space under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Onlook and Visual-Code-Space?
Onlook is written in TypeScript and Visual-Code-Space 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, Onlook or Visual-Code-Space?
Choose Onlook if you want the larger community (26,801 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Visual-Code-Space if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.