head to head · open source
tinyfilemanager vs netbeans
tinyfilemanager has 5,980 GitHub stars, 1,813 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. netbeans has 3,139 stars, 933 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. tinyfilemanager leads on adoption by 91% (5,980 vs 3,139 stars). tinyfilemanager is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. tinyfilemanager has attracted 30% 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. The two share 1 topic tag (code-editor), 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
| tinyfilemanager | netbeans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.0K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Java |
| Last push | 2026-07-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 933 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tinyfilemanager if
- You weight community size — 6.0K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- 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 tinyfilemanager
Tiny File Manager is a single file, zero configuration PHP web application that gives you a browser based file manager, uploader, archive tool and code editor from one tinyfilemanager.php script dropped into any web directory.
read the full tinyfilemanager 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 tinyfilemanager or netbeans more popular?
tinyfilemanager has 5,980 GitHub stars and netbeans has 3,139. tinyfilemanager has the larger community by that measure.
Are tinyfilemanager and netbeans free?
Both are open source. tinyfilemanager is licensed under GPL-3.0 and netbeans under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tinyfilemanager and netbeans?
tinyfilemanager is written in PHP 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, tinyfilemanager or netbeans?
Choose tinyfilemanager if you want the larger community (5,980 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose netbeans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.