head to head · open source
uBlock vs Lightning-Browser
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars, 4,427 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightning-Browser has 2,452 stars, 860 forks, 354 open issues and last shipped yesterday. uBlock leads on adoption by 2,715% (69,033 vs 2,452 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%. uBlock 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| uBlock | Lightning-Browser | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 69K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 860 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick uBlock if
- You weight community size — 69K 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
[![Badge Commits]][Commit Rate] [![Badge Issues]][Issues] [![Badge Localization]][Crowdin] [![Badge License]][License] [![Badge NPM]][NPM] [![Badge Mozilla]][Mozilla] ![Badge Chrome] [![Badge Edge]][Edge] uBlock Origin (uBO) GitHub Releases Stable and development versions on Firefox, Chromium MV2, and Thunderbird. Must be placed manually into web browsers; the Chromium and Thunderbird versions usually won't auto update. Related: uBlock Origin Lite uBlock Origin (uBO) is a CPU and memory efficient [wide spectrum content blocker][Blocking] for Chromium and Firefox. It blocks ads, trackers, coin miners, popups…
read the full uBlock overview →
About Lightning-Browser
Lightning Browser Speed, Simplicity, Security Download Features Bookmarks History Multiple search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, StartPage, DuckDuckGo, etc.) Incognito mode Unique utilization of navigation drawer or bottom drawer for tabs Customizable search suggestions Permissions Automatically granted INTERNET : necessary to access the internet. ACCESS NETWORK STATE : used by the browser to stop loading resources when network access is lost. INSTALL SHORTCUT : used to add shortcuts with the "Add to home screen" option. POST NOTIFICATIONS : used to display notifications. Requested only when needed WRITE EXTERNAL…
read the full Lightning-Browser overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Browsers & Extensions projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Browsers & Extensions field.
Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or Lightning-Browser more popular?
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars and Lightning-Browser has 2,452. 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 (69,033 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.