head to head · open source
webtorrent vs javascript-obfuscator
webtorrent has 31,397 GitHub stars, 2,902 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. javascript-obfuscator has 16,257 stars, 1,741 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. webtorrent leads on adoption by 93% (31,397 vs 16,257 stars). webtorrent is written in JavaScript under MIT; javascript-obfuscator is written in TypeScript under BSD-2-Clause. webtorrent has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, javascript-obfuscator 11%. webtorrent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (browser, javascript, nodejs), 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
| webtorrent | javascript-obfuscator | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick webtorrent if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick javascript-obfuscator if
- You want the javascript-obfuscator feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and javascript-obfuscator fits your workflow better
About webtorrent
WebTorrent is a streaming torrent client written entirely in JavaScript, distributed as a single npm package that runs both in node.js and in the browser. In node.js it behaves as an ordinary torrent client, using TCP and UDP to communicate with other clients. In the browser it uses WebRTC data channels for peer to peer transport, which means it works without browser plugins, extensions, or installations. The project lives in the JavaScript and node.js ecosystem, is licensed under MIT, and has been developed for roughly thirteen years.
read the full webtorrent overview →
About javascript-obfuscator
JavaScript Obfuscator is a free, BSD 2 Clause licensed TypeScript obfuscator for JavaScript and Node.js source code, built for developers who need to ship browser or server side JavaScript that is hard to read, tamper with, or reverse engineer.
read the full javascript-obfuscator overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is webtorrent or javascript-obfuscator more popular?
webtorrent has 31,397 GitHub stars and javascript-obfuscator has 16,257. webtorrent has the larger community by that measure.
Are webtorrent and javascript-obfuscator free?
Both are open source. webtorrent is licensed under MIT and javascript-obfuscator under BSD-2-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between webtorrent and javascript-obfuscator?
webtorrent is written in JavaScript and javascript-obfuscator 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, webtorrent or javascript-obfuscator?
Choose webtorrent if you want the larger community (31,397 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose javascript-obfuscator if its feature set, stack or BSD-2-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.