head to head · open source
react vs devtools-frontend
react has 250,709 GitHub stars, 51,413 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. devtools-frontend has 4,052 stars, 728 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped today. react leads on adoption by 6,087% (250,709 vs 4,052 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; devtools-frontend is written in TypeScript under BSD-3-Clause. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, devtools-frontend 18%. devtools-frontend was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| react | devtools-frontend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 4.1K |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 728 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick react if
- You weight community size — 251K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick devtools-frontend if
- You want the devtools-frontend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and devtools-frontend fits your workflow better
About react
React is a JavaScript library under the MIT licence for building user interfaces, using a declarative, component based model that renders both on the web and, through React Native, on mobile.
read the full react overview →
About devtools-frontend
devtools frontend is the client side of the Chrome DevTools — all of the TypeScript and CSS that runs the DevTools web app — released under the BSD 3 Clause licence for browser engineers, tooling authors, and anyone contributing to the interface shipped inside Chrome.
read the full devtools-frontend overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Frameworks & Platforms projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Frameworks & Platforms field.
Frequently asked questions
Is react or devtools-frontend more popular?
react has 250,709 GitHub stars and devtools-frontend has 4,052. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and devtools-frontend free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and devtools-frontend under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and devtools-frontend?
react is written in JavaScript and devtools-frontend in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, react or devtools-frontend?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,709 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose devtools-frontend if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.