head to head · open source
webpack vs retire.js
webpack has 65,978 GitHub stars, 9,619 forks, 123 open issues and last shipped yesterday. retire.js has 4,199 stars, 441 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. webpack leads on adoption by 1,471% (65,978 vs 4,199 stars). webpack is written in JavaScript under MIT; retire.js is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. webpack has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, retire.js 11%. webpack was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (build-tool, 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| webpack | retire.js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 441 |
| 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 retire.js if
- You want the retire.js feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and retire.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 retire.js
Retire.js What you require you must also retire There is a vast ecosystem of JavaScript libraries available for both web and Node.js applications. While these libraries significantly accelerate development, they also require ongoing maintenance to ensure security vulnerabilities are addressed promptly. In 2013, “Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities” was added to the OWASP Top 10 list of critical security risks, highlighting the serious threat that outdated or insecure dependencies can pose to web applications. Retire.js was created to help developers identify JavaScript library versions with known…
read the full retire.js overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More Build & Deployment projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Build & Deployment field.
Frequently asked questions
Is webpack or retire.js more popular?
webpack has 65,978 GitHub stars and retire.js has 4,199. webpack has the larger community by that measure.
Are webpack and retire.js free?
Both are open source. webpack is licensed under MIT and retire.js under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webpack and retire.js?
webpack is written in JavaScript and retire.js 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, webpack or retire.js?
Choose webpack if you want the larger community (65,978 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose retire.js if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.