head to head · open source
parcel vs cloud-in-a-bottle
parcel has 44,009 GitHub stars, 2,424 forks, 606 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. cloud-in-a-bottle has 1,239 stars, 84 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped yesterday. parcel leads on adoption by 3,452% (44,009 vs 1,239 stars). parcel is written in JavaScript under MIT; cloud-in-a-bottle is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. parcel has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, cloud-in-a-bottle 7%. cloud-in-a-bottle 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
| parcel | cloud-in-a-bottle | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 84 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick parcel if
- You weight community size — 44K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cloud-in-a-bottle if
- You want the cloud-in-a-bottle feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and cloud-in-a-bottle fits your workflow better
About parcel
Parcel is a zero configuration build tool for the web. It combines a great out of the box development experience with a scalable architecture that can take your project from just getting started to massive production application. Features 😍 Zero config – Parcel supports many languages and file types out of the box, from web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to assets like images, fonts, videos, and more. It has a built in dev server with hot reloading, beautiful error diagnostics, and much more. No configuration needed! ⚡️ Lightning fast – Parcel's JavaScript compiler is written in Rust for native…
read the full parcel overview →
About cloud-in-a-bottle
Cloud in a Bottle Your corner of the cloud. Deploy, use, and share web apps on a server you control. Your apps, data, and infrastructure stay yours. Why Cloud in a Bottle Most people have no access to the cloud that isn't mediated by a company with different incentives than theirs. Open source web software exists but running it somewhere means fighting infrastructure that most people don't want to touch. Cloud in a Bottle is the project our team needed and couldn't find: a corner of the cloud that's genuinely yours. Where apps install as easily as on your phone, and the data lives on hardware you control. What…
read the full cloud-in-a-bottle overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is parcel or cloud-in-a-bottle more popular?
parcel has 44,009 GitHub stars and cloud-in-a-bottle has 1,239. parcel has the larger community by that measure.
Are parcel and cloud-in-a-bottle free?
Both are open source. parcel is licensed under MIT and cloud-in-a-bottle under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between parcel and cloud-in-a-bottle?
parcel is written in JavaScript and cloud-in-a-bottle in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, parcel or cloud-in-a-bottle?
Choose parcel if you want the larger community (44,009 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cloud-in-a-bottle if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.