head to head · open source
react vs Kilo
react has 250,566 GitHub stars, 51,372 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kilo has 27,355 stars, 3,174 forks, 586 open issues and last shipped yesterday. react leads on adoption by 816% (250,566 vs 27,355 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; Kilo is written in TypeScript under MIT. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Kilo 12%. Kilo 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
| react | Kilo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 27K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| 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 Kilo if
- You want the Kilo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Kilo 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 Kilo
Kilo is an open source AI coding agent platform that integrates into VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, the CLI, and cloud environments. It enables developers to build, ship, and iterate faster by acting as an autonomous or semi autonomous coding assistant across their entire workflow. Built in TypeScript and licensed under MIT, it supports 500+ models—including GPT 5.5, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 4.6, and Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview—without vendor lock in or markup.
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or Kilo more popular?
react has 250,566 GitHub stars and Kilo has 27,355. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and Kilo free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and Kilo under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and Kilo?
react is written in JavaScript and Kilo 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 Kilo?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,566 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Kilo if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.