head to head · open source
Puter vs pki
Puter has 43,554 GitHub stars, 4,064 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pki has 509 stars, 162 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Puter leads on adoption by 8,457% (43,554 vs 509 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; pki is written in Java under GPL-2.0. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, pki 32%. Puter 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
| Puter | pki | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 509 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 162 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Puter if
- You weight community size — 44K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pki if
- You want the pki feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and pki fits your workflow better
About Puter
Puter is an open source, self hostable internet computer that delivers a full desktop environment running directly in a web browser. It functions as a cloud based operating system, integrating file storage, applications, and developer tooling into a single cohesive platform. The project lives in the browser based desktop and cloud infrastructure ecosystem, positioning itself as a free and open alternative to proprietary cloud desktop services.
read the full Puter overview →
About pki
Dogtag PKI is an enterprise class open source Certificate Authority suite, written in Java and licensed under GPL 2.0, for administrators who need to run their own certificate lifecycle infrastructure rather than buy it as a hosted service.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or pki more popular?
Puter has 43,554 GitHub stars and pki has 509. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and pki free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and pki under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Puter and pki?
Puter is written in TypeScript and pki in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Puter or pki?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (43,554 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pki if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.