head to head · open source
webgradients vs partmode
webgradients has 2,478 GitHub stars, 140 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. partmode has 512 stars, 24 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. webgradients leads on adoption by 384% (2,478 vs 512 stars). webgradients is written in CSS under MIT; partmode is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. webgradients has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, partmode 5%. partmode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai-agents), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| webgradients | partmode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.5K | ★ 512 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | CSS | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-03 | 2026-08-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 140 | ⑂ 24 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick webgradients if
- You weight community size — 2.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches CSS
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick partmode if
- You want the partmode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and partmode fits your workflow better
About webgradients
WebGradients is a curated, MIT licensed collection of 180 ready made gradients distributed as CSS3, Sketch, PSD and Figma assets alongside a machine readable JSON dataset, aimed at frontend developers, designers and AI agent builders who need polished background colour treatments without composing them from scratch.
read the full webgradients overview →
About partmode
PartMode is an open source, local first 3D parametric CAD application that runs in the browser for people and for permissioned typed agents, built on OpenCascade WebAssembly, and it is aimed at mechanical designers, engineers, and agent developers who want exact parametric modelling without a desktop CAD installation.
read the full partmode overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Design & Prototyping projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Design & Prototyping field.
Frequently asked questions
Is webgradients or partmode more popular?
webgradients has 2,478 GitHub stars and partmode has 512. webgradients has the larger community by that measure.
Are webgradients and partmode free?
Both are open source. webgradients is licensed under MIT and partmode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webgradients and partmode?
webgradients is written in CSS and partmode in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, webgradients or partmode?
Choose webgradients if you want the larger community (2,478 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose partmode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.