head to head · open source
webtorrent vs SingleFile
webtorrent has 31,397 GitHub stars, 2,902 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SingleFile has 22,411 stars, 1,410 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped yesterday. webtorrent leads on adoption by 40% (31,397 vs 22,411 stars). webtorrent is written in JavaScript under MIT; SingleFile is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. webtorrent has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, SingleFile 6%. SingleFile was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), 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
| webtorrent | SingleFile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick webtorrent if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SingleFile if
- You want the SingleFile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and SingleFile fits your workflow better
About webtorrent
WebTorrent is a streaming torrent client written entirely in JavaScript, distributed as a single npm package that runs both in node.js and in the browser. In node.js it behaves as an ordinary torrent client, using TCP and UDP to communicate with other clients. In the browser it uses WebRTC data channels for peer to peer transport, which means it works without browser plugins, extensions, or installations. The project lives in the JavaScript and node.js ecosystem, is licensed under MIT, and has been developed for roughly thirteen years.
read the full webtorrent overview →
About SingleFile
SingleFile is a web extension, and also a command line tool, that saves a complete web page into a single HTML file. It is written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0 license, and it lives in the browser extension ecosystem, with builds published for Chrome, Firefox (desktop and mobile), Microsoft Edge, Safari, Vivaldi, Brave, Waterfox, Yandex browser, and Opera. The project has been developed for roughly sixteen years and is distributed through the extension stores of Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge, as well as through manual installation from the project archive.
read the full SingleFile overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is webtorrent or SingleFile more popular?
webtorrent has 31,397 GitHub stars and SingleFile has 22,411. webtorrent has the larger community by that measure.
Are webtorrent and SingleFile free?
Both are open source. webtorrent is licensed under MIT and SingleFile under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webtorrent and SingleFile?
webtorrent is written in JavaScript and SingleFile in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, webtorrent or SingleFile?
Choose webtorrent if you want the larger community (31,397 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose SingleFile if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.