head to head · open source
uBlock vs Lightning-Browser
uBlock has 67,951 GitHub stars, 4,354 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightning-Browser has 2,429 stars, 856 forks, 354 open issues and last shipped yesterday. uBlock leads on adoption by 2,697% (67,951 vs 2,429 stars). uBlock is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; Lightning-Browser is written in Kotlin under MPL-2.0. uBlock has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Lightning-Browser 35%. Lightning-Browser 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
| uBlock | Lightning-Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 856 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick uBlock if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Lightning-Browser if
- You want the Lightning-Browser feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Lightning-Browser fits your workflow better
About uBlock
uBlock Origin is a CPU and memory efficient, wide spectrum content blocker for Chromium and Firefox, aimed at anyone who wants ads, trackers, coin miners, popups, anti blockers and malware sites neutralised by default without hand tuning anything.
read the full uBlock overview →
About Lightning-Browser
Lightning Browser is a lightweight, open source Android web browser written in Kotlin and Java and released under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, built for Android users who want fast, simple, privacy conscious browsing without a heavyweight browser suite.
read the full Lightning-Browser overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or Lightning-Browser more popular?
uBlock has 67,951 GitHub stars and Lightning-Browser has 2,429. uBlock has the larger community by that measure.
Are uBlock and Lightning-Browser free?
Both are open source. uBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Lightning-Browser under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between uBlock and Lightning-Browser?
uBlock is written in JavaScript and Lightning-Browser in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, uBlock or Lightning-Browser?
Choose uBlock if you want the larger community (67,951 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Lightning-Browser if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.