head to head · open source
qutebrowser vs luakit
qutebrowser has 11,699 GitHub stars, 1,130 forks, 1,335 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. luakit has 2,313 stars, 254 forks, 253 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. qutebrowser leads on adoption by 406% (11,699 vs 2,313 stars). qutebrowser is written in Python under GPL-3.0; luakit is written in Lua under GPL-3.0. qutebrowser has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, luakit 11%. qutebrowser 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
| qutebrowser | luakit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-06-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 254 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick qutebrowser if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick luakit if
- You want the luakit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and luakit fits your workflow better
About qutebrowser
qutebrowser is a free, GPL 3.0 licensed, keyboard driven browser with a minimal GUI, built on Python and Qt, for people who want vim style keyboard control of the web rather than a mouse.
read the full qutebrowser overview →
About luakit
Luakit is a fast, small, and simple micro browser framework built around the WebKit web content engine and the GTK+ toolkit. It is extensible by Lua, so browser behavior and user workflows can be shaped through Lua configuration files instead of only through fixed settings screens.
read the full luakit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is qutebrowser or luakit more popular?
qutebrowser has 11,699 GitHub stars and luakit has 2,313. qutebrowser has the larger community by that measure.
Are qutebrowser and luakit free?
Both are open source. qutebrowser is licensed under GPL-3.0 and luakit under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between qutebrowser and luakit?
qutebrowser is written in Python and luakit in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, qutebrowser or luakit?
Choose qutebrowser if you want the larger community (11,699 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose luakit if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.