head to head · open source
uBlock vs lightning-browser-extension
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars, 4,427 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lightning-browser-extension has 586 stars, 227 forks, 237 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. uBlock leads on adoption by 11,680% (69,033 vs 586 stars). uBlock is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; lightning-browser-extension is written in TypeScript under MIT. uBlock has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, lightning-browser-extension 39%. uBlock was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser-extension), 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
| uBlock | lightning-browser-extension | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 69K | ★ 586 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 227 |
| 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-extension if
- You want the lightning-browser-extension feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and lightning-browser-extension 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-extension
⚡ Alby Lightning Browser Extension Seamlessly bring Bitcoin's Lightning Network to your browser. The Alby browser extension seamlessly integrates the Bitcoin Lightning Network into websites, enabling both payments and authentication flows. Designed to be a lightweight and efficient web extension, Alby allows browsers to interact with the Lightning Network programmatically. It focuses on web payments rather than advanced node management, ensuring a simple and intuitive user experience. Alby implements the WebLN standard, providing a universal interface for websites to: Connect to Lightning Network nodes Request…
read the full lightning-browser-extension overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or lightning-browser-extension more popular?
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars and lightning-browser-extension has 586. uBlock has the larger community by that measure.
Are uBlock and lightning-browser-extension free?
Both are open source. uBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and lightning-browser-extension under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between uBlock and lightning-browser-extension?
uBlock is written in JavaScript and lightning-browser-extension 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, uBlock or lightning-browser-extension?
Choose uBlock if you want the larger community (69,033 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose lightning-browser-extension if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.