head to head · open source
vscode vs react-ace
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars, 42,648 forks, 21,181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. react-ace has 4,206 stars, 598 forks, 217 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vscode leads on adoption by 4,481% (192,658 vs 4,206 stars). vscode is written in TypeScript under MIT; react-ace is written in TypeScript under MIT. vscode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, react-ace 14%. vscode 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
| vscode | react-ace | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 193K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43K | ⑂ 598 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vscode if
- You weight community size — 193K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick react-ace if
- You want the react-ace feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and react-ace fits your workflow better
About vscode
Visual Studio Code is Microsoft's open source code editor — the Code OSS repository, written in TypeScript on Electron and released under the MIT license — and it serves two audiences: developers who want a lightweight editor covering the core edit build debug cycle on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and contributors who want to work directly on the editor, its roadmap, and its extensions.
read the full vscode overview →
About react-ace
React Ace is a set of React components that wrap the Ace code editor, published on npm under the MIT licence for developers who need an editable code surface inside a React application.
read the full react-ace overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vscode or react-ace more popular?
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars and react-ace has 4,206. vscode has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscode and react-ace free?
Both are open source. vscode is licensed under MIT and react-ace under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vscode and react-ace?
vscode is written in TypeScript and react-ace 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, vscode or react-ace?
Choose vscode if you want the larger community (192,658 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose react-ace if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.