head to head · open source
webpack vs extension.js
webpack has 65,978 GitHub stars, 9,619 forks, 123 open issues and last shipped yesterday. extension.js has 5,206 stars, 144 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped yesterday. webpack leads on adoption by 1,167% (65,978 vs 5,206 stars). webpack is written in JavaScript under MIT; extension.js is written in TypeScript under MIT. webpack has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, extension.js 3%. webpack was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (build-tool), 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
| webpack | extension.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 144 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick webpack if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick extension.js if
- You want the extension.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and extension.js fits your workflow better
About webpack
[![npm][npm]][npm url] [![node][node]][node url] [![builds1][builds1]][builds1 url] [![dependency review][dependency review]][dependency review url] [![coverage][cover]][cover url] [![PR's welcome][prs]][prs url] webpack Webpack is a module bundler. Its main purpose is to bundle JavaScript files for usage in a browser, yet it is also capable of transforming, bundling, or packaging just about any resource or asset. Table of Contents Install Introduction Concepts Contributing Support Current project members TSC (Technical Steering Committee) Core Collaborators Sponsoring Premium Partners Gold Sponsors Silver…
read the full webpack overview →
About extension.js
[npm version image]: [npm version url]: [npm downloads image]: [npm downloads url]: [action image]: [action url]: [discord image]: [discord url]: [snyk image]: [snyk url]: [scorecard image]: [scorecard url]: Extension.js [![Version][npm version image]][npm version url] [![Downloads][npm downloads image]][npm downloads url] [![CI][action image]][action url] [![Discord][discord image]][discord url] [![OpenSSF Scorecard][scorecard image]][scorecard url] The cross browser extension framework. Build for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari with no build config required. Works with npm , pnpm , yarn , bun , and deno…
read the full extension.js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is webpack or extension.js more popular?
webpack has 65,978 GitHub stars and extension.js has 5,206. webpack has the larger community by that measure.
Are webpack and extension.js free?
Both are open source. webpack is licensed under MIT and extension.js under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webpack and extension.js?
webpack is written in JavaScript and extension.js 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, webpack or extension.js?
Choose webpack if you want the larger community (65,978 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose extension.js if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.