head to head · open source
writefreely vs Maskbook
writefreely has 5,254 GitHub stars, 398 forks, 108 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Maskbook has 1,584 stars, 316 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. writefreely leads on adoption by 232% (5,254 vs 1,584 stars). writefreely is written in Go under AGPL-3.0; Maskbook is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. writefreely has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Maskbook 20%. writefreely was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| writefreely | Maskbook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.3K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 398 | ⑂ 316 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick writefreely if
- You weight community size — 5.3K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Maskbook if
- You want the Maskbook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Maskbook fits your workflow better
About writefreely
WriteFreely is a clean, minimalist publishing platform made for writers, released under the AGPL 3.0 license and written in Go. It belongs to the fediverse: an ecosystem of federated publishing and social software that speaks ActivityPub, the same protocol used by Plume and other ActivityPub powered applications. An instance can be a single writer's blog, a shared internal knowledge base inside an organization, or a community built around the shared act of writing.
read the full writefreely overview →
About Maskbook
Maskbook is open source browser extension. It is TypeScript project. It carries AGPL 3.0 license. It sits in Community & Social / Social Networking. It presents itself as portal to new, open Internet. It bridges Web2.0 to Web3.0. It targets social platforms people already use. It adds encrypted posting, encrypted file sharing, NFT profile picture use, token trading on X (formerly Twitter), crypto lucky draws. It uses topics: arweave, blockchain, browser extension, crypto, cryptography, defi, dweb, encryption, ethereum, gundb, ipfs, nft. It has 1582 stars, 316 forks, 4 open issues. Repo age 7 years. Last push 2026…
read the full Maskbook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is writefreely or Maskbook more popular?
writefreely has 5,254 GitHub stars and Maskbook has 1,584. writefreely has the larger community by that measure.
Are writefreely and Maskbook free?
Both are open source. writefreely is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Maskbook under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between writefreely and Maskbook?
writefreely is written in Go and Maskbook 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, writefreely or Maskbook?
Choose writefreely if you want the larger community (5,254 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Maskbook if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.