head to head · open source
react vs netbeans
react has 250,583 GitHub stars, 51,374 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped yesterday. netbeans has 3,140 stars, 933 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped yesterday. react leads on adoption by 7,880% (250,583 vs 3,140 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, netbeans 30%. netbeans 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 | netbeans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 933 |
| 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 netbeans if
- You want the netbeans feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and netbeans 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 netbeans
Apache NetBeans is an Apache 2.0 open source development environment, tooling platform and application framework written in Java, aimed at developers who write and run Java applications and at teams that build desktop software on top of the NetBeans Platform.
read the full netbeans overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or netbeans more popular?
react has 250,583 GitHub stars and netbeans has 3,140. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and netbeans free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and netbeans under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and netbeans?
react is written in JavaScript and netbeans in Java. 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 netbeans?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,583 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose netbeans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.