head to head · open source
Pearcleaner vs BleachBit
Pearcleaner has 15,029 GitHub stars, 401 forks, 84 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. BleachBit has 7,349 stars, 486 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pearcleaner leads on adoption by 105% (15,029 vs 7,349 stars). Pearcleaner is written in Swift under a custom or non-standard licence; BleachBit is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Pearcleaner has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, BleachBit 7%. BleachBit 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
| Pearcleaner | BleachBit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Swift | Python |
| Last push | 2026-06-22 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 401 | ⑂ 486 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Pearcleaner if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BleachBit if
- You want the BleachBit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and BleachBit fits your workflow better
About Pearcleaner
Pearcleaner Website The only legitimate website owned by me is Anything else offering Pearcleaner downloads is either a scam or not affiliated with me. More details HERE. Project Status: On Hold As you may have noticed, development on the app has basically stopped since end of 2025, so I wanted to provide some context. Between a new job, joining a friend who is building a SaaS company, and other life priorities, I no longer have the time needed to actively maintain or continue development on the project. Another major reason is that I previously relied on my work MacBook for development. After changing jobs, I…
read the full Pearcleaner overview →
About BleachBit
BleachBit BleachBit cleans files to free disk space and to maintain privacy. Running from source To run BleachBit without installation, first install the system dependencies, then build the translations and run it: Many Linux systems have the basic dependencies: you may skip installation, but in case of any issues, please check for missing dependencies. Then, review the preferences. Then, select some options, and click Preview. Review the files, toggle options accordingly, and click Delete. For information regarding the command line interface, run: Read more about running from source. Links BleachBit home page…
read the full BleachBit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Pearcleaner or BleachBit more popular?
Pearcleaner has 15,029 GitHub stars and BleachBit has 7,349. Pearcleaner has the larger community by that measure.
Are Pearcleaner and BleachBit free?
Both are open source. Pearcleaner has no licence declared in this registry, and BleachBit is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Pearcleaner and BleachBit?
Pearcleaner is written in Swift and BleachBit 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, Pearcleaner or BleachBit?
Choose Pearcleaner if you want the larger community (15,029 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose BleachBit if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.