head to head · open source
ranger vs vifm
ranger has 17,414 GitHub stars, 940 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. vifm has 3,279 stars, 146 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. ranger leads on adoption by 431% (17,414 vs 3,279 stars). ranger is written in Python under GPL-3.0; vifm is written in C under GPL-2.0. ranger has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, vifm 4%. ranger was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (file-manager), 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
| ranger | vifm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 940 | ⑂ 146 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ranger if
- You weight community size — 17K 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 vifm if
- You want the vifm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and vifm fits your workflow better
About ranger
Ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings, written in Python and released under the GNU General Public License version 3, for terminal users who want to browse, preview, and manipulate files without leaving a Unix shell.
read the full ranger overview →
About vifm
Vifm is a curses based, Vim like file manager for the terminal that gives people who already use Vim complete keyboard control over their files without having to learn a new set of commands.
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Frequently asked questions
Is ranger or vifm more popular?
ranger has 17,414 GitHub stars and vifm has 3,279. ranger has the larger community by that measure.
Are ranger and vifm free?
Both are open source. ranger is licensed under GPL-3.0 and vifm under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ranger and vifm?
ranger is written in Python and vifm 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, ranger or vifm?
Choose ranger if you want the larger community (17,414 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose vifm if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.