head to head · open source
uBlock vs Transcrypt
uBlock has 67,937 GitHub stars, 4,354 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Transcrypt has 2,916 stars, 218 forks, 206 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. uBlock leads on adoption by 2,230% (67,937 vs 2,916 stars). uBlock is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0; Transcrypt is written in Python under Apache-2.0. uBlock has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Transcrypt 7%. uBlock was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), 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 | Transcrypt | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-06-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 218 |
| 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 Transcrypt if
- You want the Transcrypt feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Transcrypt 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 Transcrypt
Transcrypt is a Python 3.9 to JavaScript compiler that precompiles Python into readable, efficient JavaScript for professional, extensive, real world web applications, and it is for developers who want Python's clean, modular structure in the browser without giving up JavaScript class load and run speed.
read the full Transcrypt overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is uBlock or Transcrypt more popular?
uBlock has 67,937 GitHub stars and Transcrypt has 2,916. uBlock has the larger community by that measure.
Are uBlock and Transcrypt free?
Both are open source. uBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Transcrypt under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between uBlock and Transcrypt?
uBlock is written in JavaScript and Transcrypt in Python. 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 Transcrypt?
Choose uBlock if you want the larger community (67,937 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Transcrypt if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.