head to head · open source
react vs KeystoneJS
react has 252,095 GitHub stars, 51,624 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. KeystoneJS has 9,986 stars, 1,262 forks, 138 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. react leads on adoption by 2,424% (252,095 vs 9,986 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; KeystoneJS is written in TypeScript under MIT. react has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, KeystoneJS 13%. KeystoneJS was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (react), 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
| react | KeystoneJS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 252K | ★ 10.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick react if
- You weight community size — 252K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick KeystoneJS if
- You want the KeystoneJS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and KeystoneJS fits your workflow better
About react
React · React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. Declarative: React makes it painless to create interactive UIs. Design simple views for each state in your application, and React will efficiently update and render just the right components when your data changes. Declarative views make your code more predictable, simpler to understand, and easier to debug. Component Based: Build encapsulated components that manage their own state, then compose them to make complex UIs. Since component logic is written in JavaScript instead of templates, you can easily pass rich data through your app and…
read the full react overview →
About KeystoneJS
Keystone helps you build faster and scale further than any other CMS or App Framework. Describe your schema, and get a powerful GraphQL API & beautiful Management UI for your content and data. No boilerplate or bootstrapping – just elegant APIs to help you ship the code that matters without sacrificing the flexibility or power of a bespoke back end. Contents Usage & Documentation Versioning Code of Conduct Security License Usage & Documentation Keystone 6 is published to npm under the @keystone 6/ namespace. You can find our extended documentation on our website, but some quick links that might be helpful: Read…
read the full KeystoneJS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or KeystoneJS more popular?
react has 252,095 GitHub stars and KeystoneJS has 9,986. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and KeystoneJS free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and KeystoneJS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and KeystoneJS?
react is written in JavaScript and KeystoneJS 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 KeystoneJS?
Choose react if you want the larger community (252,095 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose KeystoneJS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.