head to head · open source
slate vs webtorrent
slate has 31,748 GitHub stars, 3,302 forks, 653 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. webtorrent has 31,397 stars, 2,902 forks, 83 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. slate leads on adoption by 1% (31,748 vs 31,397 stars). slate is written in TypeScript under MIT; webtorrent is written in JavaScript under MIT. slate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, webtorrent 9%. webtorrent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser, 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.
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Side by side
| slate | webtorrent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 31K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick slate if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick webtorrent if
- You want the webtorrent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and webtorrent fits your workflow better
About slate
Slate is a completely customizable framework for building rich text editors, written in TypeScript and released under the MIT licence, for JavaScript and React developers who need an editor that goes well past what a fixed schema can offer.
read the full slate overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is slate or webtorrent more popular?
slate has 31,748 GitHub stars and webtorrent has 31,397. slate has the larger community by that measure.
Are slate and webtorrent free?
Both are open source. slate is licensed under MIT and webtorrent under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between slate and webtorrent?
slate is written in TypeScript and webtorrent 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, slate or webtorrent?
Choose slate if you want the larger community (31,748 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose webtorrent if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.