head to head · open source
uBlock vs Linguist
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars, 4,427 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Linguist has 1,083 stars, 51 forks, 267 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. uBlock leads on adoption by 6,274% (69,033 vs 1,083 stars). uBlock is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; Linguist is written in TypeScript under BSD-3-Clause. uBlock has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Linguist 5%. uBlock was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser-extension, firefox), 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 | Linguist | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 69K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 51 |
| 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 Linguist if
- You want the Linguist feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Linguist 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 Linguist
Linguist is a powerful browser extension built to replace commercial translation services — private, fast, and under your control. Translate web pages, highlighted text, subtitles (including Netflix), and private messages; hear translations via TTS; and save entries to a personal dictionary. Supports 130 languages. Why Linguist? Linguist is a standalone translation system — not a thin wrapper around a commercial widget. Translate privately and offline on your device, or plug in any backend you choose (including your own; see Custom translators). See a custom translators list for popular bindings. Linguist is…
read the full Linguist overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or Linguist more popular?
uBlock has 69,033 GitHub stars and Linguist has 1,083. uBlock has the larger community by that measure.
Are uBlock and Linguist free?
Both are open source. uBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Linguist under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between uBlock and Linguist?
uBlock is written in JavaScript and Linguist 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 Linguist?
Choose uBlock if you want the larger community (69,033 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Linguist if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.