head to head · open source
tinyfilemanager vs web-maker
tinyfilemanager has 5,980 GitHub stars, 1,813 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. web-maker has 2,699 stars, 324 forks, 120 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. tinyfilemanager leads on adoption by 122% (5,980 vs 2,699 stars). tinyfilemanager is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; web-maker is written in JavaScript under MIT. tinyfilemanager has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, web-maker 12%. web-maker 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 | web-maker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.0K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-07-20 | 2026-08-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 324 |
| 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 web-maker if
- You want the web-maker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and web-maker 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 web-maker
Web Maker is an MIT licensed, offline frontend code editor and playground for HTML, CSS and JavaScript experiments that runs entirely on the user's own system, and it is aimed at frontend developers who want CodePen style quick prototyping without a network connection.
read the full web-maker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is tinyfilemanager or web-maker more popular?
tinyfilemanager has 5,980 GitHub stars and web-maker has 2,699. tinyfilemanager has the larger community by that measure.
Are tinyfilemanager and web-maker free?
Both are open source. tinyfilemanager is licensed under GPL-3.0 and web-maker under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tinyfilemanager and web-maker?
tinyfilemanager is written in PHP and web-maker 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, tinyfilemanager or web-maker?
Choose tinyfilemanager if you want the larger community (5,980 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose web-maker if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.