head to head · open source
Puter vs Tongsuo
Puter has 43,550 GitHub stars, 4,064 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tongsuo has 1,535 stars, 260 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Puter leads on adoption by 2,737% (43,550 vs 1,535 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Tongsuo is written in C under Apache-2.0. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Tongsuo 17%. 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 | Tongsuo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 260 |
| 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 Tongsuo if
- You want the Tongsuo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Tongsuo 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 Tongsuo
Tongsuo (铜锁) is an open source C library of modern cryptographic primitives and secure communication protocols, developed under the OpenAtom Foundation, and it is built for teams that need Chinese commercial cryptography, TLS, PKI, and privacy preserving primitives from a single dependency.
read the full Tongsuo overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or Tongsuo more popular?
Puter has 43,550 GitHub stars and Tongsuo has 1,535. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and Tongsuo free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tongsuo under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Puter and Tongsuo?
Puter is written in TypeScript and Tongsuo in C. 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 Tongsuo?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (43,550 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Tongsuo if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.