head to head · open source
Puter vs Stoat
Puter has 43,557 GitHub stars, 4,062 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Stoat has 3,330 stars, 387 forks, 139 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Puter leads on adoption by 1,208% (43,557 vs 3,330 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Stoat is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Stoat 12%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Puter | Stoat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 387 |
| 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 Stoat if
- You want the Stoat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Stoat 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 Stoat
Stoat is a Rust backend project that provides the services and libraries powering the Stoat group chat service. The repository is organized around core crates for configuration, database implementation, files, API models, permissions, presence, result types, and a coalesced crate.
read the full Stoat overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Data Security & Privacy projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Data Security & Privacy field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or Stoat more popular?
Puter has 43,557 GitHub stars and Stoat has 3,330. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and Stoat free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Stoat has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Puter and Stoat?
Puter is written in TypeScript and Stoat in Rust. 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 Stoat?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (43,557 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Stoat if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.