head to head · open source
react vs Onlook
react has 252,080 GitHub stars, 51,601 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Onlook has 27,077 stars, 2,139 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. react leads on adoption by 831% (252,080 vs 27,077 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. react has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, Onlook 8%. react was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (frontend), 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 | Onlook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 252K | ★ 27K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| 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 Onlook if
- You want the Onlook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Onlook 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 Onlook
Onlook The design tool for AI native designers — now in early access. Onlook makes designing on top of your codebase effortless. Craft exceptional experiences with AI in code. → Join the waitlist 👨💻👩💻👨💻 We're hiring engineers in SF! 👩💻👨💻👩💻 View Demo · Report Bug · Request Feature [![Discord][discord shield]][discord url] [![LinkedIn][linkedin shield]][linkedin url] [![Twitter][twitter shield]][twitter url] 中文 Español Deutsch français Português Русский 日本語 한국어 This is the open source visual editor that started Onlook (Next.js + Tailwind). The hosted product we're building next, for AI native…
read the full Onlook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or Onlook more popular?
react has 252,080 GitHub stars and Onlook has 27,077. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and Onlook free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and Onlook under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and Onlook?
react is written in JavaScript and Onlook 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 Onlook?
Choose react if you want the larger community (252,080 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Onlook if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.