head to head · open source
parcel vs create-elm-app
parcel has 44,008 GitHub stars, 2,425 forks, 606 open issues and last shipped yesterday. create-elm-app has 1,675 stars, 146 forks, 54 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. parcel leads on adoption by 2,527% (44,008 vs 1,675 stars). parcel is written in JavaScript under MIT; create-elm-app is written in JavaScript under MIT. parcel has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, create-elm-app 9%. parcel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (build-tool), 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
| parcel | create-elm-app | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 146 |
| 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 create-elm-app if
- You want the create-elm-app feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and create-elm-app 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 create-elm-app
Create Elm App Create Elm apps with no build configuration. Getting Started – How to create a new app. User Guide – How to develop apps bootstrapped with Create Elm App. Elm SPA example Using Create Elm App Elm in SPA example by Richard Feldman. Quickstart Create a production build with elm app build Getting Started Installation Node =8 is required for installation. Yarn yarn global add create elm app NPM npm install create elm app g If you are running Linux OS, you should install it as the superuser: sudo npm install create elm app g Creating an App To create a new app, run: Create a new my app folder with…
read the full create-elm-app overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is parcel or create-elm-app more popular?
parcel has 44,008 GitHub stars and create-elm-app has 1,675. parcel has the larger community by that measure.
Are parcel and create-elm-app free?
Both are open source. parcel is licensed under MIT and create-elm-app under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between parcel and create-elm-app?
parcel is written in JavaScript and create-elm-app in JavaScript. 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 create-elm-app?
Choose parcel if you want the larger community (44,008 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose create-elm-app if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.