head to head · open source
ToolJet vs Onlook
ToolJet has 40,936 GitHub stars, 5,448 forks, 1,204 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Onlook has 26,752 stars, 2,101 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. ToolJet leads on adoption by 53% (40,936 vs 26,752 stars). ToolJet is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. ToolJet has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Onlook 8%. ToolJet was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (low-code), 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
| ToolJet | Onlook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 27K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.4K | ⑂ 2.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ToolJet if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 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 ToolJet
ToolJet is an open source low code platform for building internal tools—admin panels, dashboards, and operational applications—by connecting to existing databases, APIs, and SaaS systems. It lives in the JavaScript ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL 3.0.
read the full ToolJet overview →
About Onlook
Onlook is an open source, Apache 2.0 visual editor for Next.js and TailwindCSS projects that lets designers and developers edit a running React app in the browser while the underlying code changes in real time.
read the full Onlook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ToolJet or Onlook more popular?
ToolJet has 40,936 GitHub stars and Onlook has 26,752. ToolJet has the larger community by that measure.
Are ToolJet and Onlook free?
Both are open source. ToolJet is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Onlook under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ToolJet and Onlook?
ToolJet 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, ToolJet or Onlook?
Choose ToolJet if you want the larger community (40,936 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Onlook if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.