head to head · open source
Puter vs UnKey
Puter has 44,062 GitHub stars, 4,140 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. UnKey has 5,483 stars, 636 forks, 163 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Puter leads on adoption by 704% (44,062 vs 5,483 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; UnKey is written in Go under a custom or non-standard licence. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, UnKey 12%. Puter was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (open-source), 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
| Puter | UnKey | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 5.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 636 |
| 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 UnKey if
- You want the UnKey feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and UnKey fits your workflow better
About Puter
The Open Source Internet Computer! « LIVE DEMO » Puter.com · App Store · Developers · X Puter Puter is an advanced, open source, self hostable internet computer designed to be feature rich, fast, and highly extensible. For Users Puter's goal is to provide you with every app and feature you need to work, create, and play under one roof. From a simple Notepad and Voice Recorder to Spreadsheet and Camera, Puter wants to be the all in one solution for your digital life. For Developers Puter provides everything you need to build and publish web apps and games. From AI to Cloud Storage and Database to Serverless…
read the full Puter overview →
About UnKey
Unkey The Developer Platform for Modern APIs unkey.com · Docs · Engineering · Discord What is Unkey? Unkey is the developer platform for modern APIs. We unify your infrastructure so you can ship faster: deploy APIs instantly, route traffic through global gateways, and understand usage — all in one place. Deploy — push an API to production in seconds, with zero infrastructure to manage Gateway — route, authenticate, and shape traffic through globally distributed gateways API Keys — issue, verify, and revoke keys with fast global verification Ratelimiting — globally consistent, durable ratelimiting for any…
read the full UnKey overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or UnKey more popular?
Puter has 44,062 GitHub stars and UnKey has 5,483. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and UnKey free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and UnKey has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Puter and UnKey?
Puter is written in TypeScript and UnKey in Go. 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 UnKey?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (44,062 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose UnKey if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.