head to head · open source
open-design vs varlet
open-design has 98,528 GitHub stars, 11,424 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped today. varlet has 5,333 stars, 619 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. open-design leads on adoption by 1,748% (98,528 vs 5,333 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; varlet is written in Vue under MIT. open-design has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, varlet 12%. open-design 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.
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Side by side
| open-design | varlet | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 99K | ★ 5.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-29 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 619 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-design if
- You weight community size — 99K 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 varlet if
- You want the varlet feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and varlet fits your workflow better
About open-design
OpenDesign is an open source, local first desktop design application for macOS and Windows that turns the coding agent already installed on a developer's machine into the design engine, producing prototypes, dashboards, decks, images, and motion graphics as real files exported to HTML, PDF, PPTX, and MP4.
read the full open-design overview →
About varlet
Varlet is an MIT licensed Vue 3 component library that implements Material Design 2 and 3 across both mobile and desktop, built for Vue developers and teams who need a broad, themeable UI kit rather than a hand rolled set of components.
read the full varlet overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or varlet more popular?
open-design has 98,528 GitHub stars and varlet has 5,333. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and varlet free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and varlet under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and varlet?
open-design is written in TypeScript and varlet in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, open-design or varlet?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (98,528 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose varlet if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.