head to head · open source
changedetection.io vs Steel
changedetection.io has 34,376 GitHub stars, 2,070 forks, 385 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Steel has 7,668 stars, 982 forks, 68 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. changedetection.io leads on adoption by 348% (34,376 vs 7,668 stars). changedetection.io is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Steel is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. changedetection.io has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Steel 13%. changedetection.io 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
| changedetection.io | Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 7.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 982 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick changedetection.io if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Steel if
- You want the Steel 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 Steel fits your workflow better
About changedetection.io
changedetection.io is an open source website change detection and web page monitoring tool written in Python and released under the Apache 2.0 license. It watches URLs, detects when their content changes, and sends alerts through channels such as Discord, Email, Slack, Telegram, and Webhook. The project lives in the Data & Analytics / Data Extraction & Web Scraping ecosystem, carries more than 34,000 stars and 2,000 forks on GitHub, and has been developed for roughly six years. It is designed to be self hosted, and the same codebase also backs a hosted subscription service offered by the maintainers.…
read the full changedetection.io overview →
About Steel
Steel is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed browser API written in TypeScript that gives AI agents and applications cloud browser sessions, so teams can automate the web without building browser infrastructure from scratch.
read the full Steel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is changedetection.io or Steel more popular?
changedetection.io has 34,376 GitHub stars and Steel has 7,668. changedetection.io has the larger community by that measure.
Are changedetection.io and Steel free?
Both are open source. changedetection.io is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Steel under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between changedetection.io and Steel?
changedetection.io is written in Python and Steel 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, changedetection.io or Steel?
Choose changedetection.io if you want the larger community (34,376 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Steel if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.