head to head · open source
writefreely vs Maskbook
writefreely has 5,283 GitHub stars, 408 forks, 108 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Maskbook has 1,588 stars, 315 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. writefreely leads on adoption by 233% (5,283 vs 1,588 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 | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 408 | ⑂ 315 |
| 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. Start a blog, share knowledge within your organization, or build a community around the shared act of writing. Try the writing experience Find an instance Features Made for writing Built on a plain, auto saving editor, WriteFreely gives you a distraction free writing environment. Once published, your words are front and center, and easy to read. A connected community Start writing together, publicly or privately. Connect with other communities, whether running WriteFreely, Plume, or other ActivityPub powered software. And bring members on…
read the full writefreely overview →
About Maskbook
Mask Network [![GitHub license][badge license]][license] [![Join the chat at [![Chrome Web Store][badge chrome]][client chrome] [![Mozilla Add on][badge firefox]][client firefox] [![Opera][badge opera]][client opera] [![FOSSA Status][badge fossa]][fossa] [![Crowdin][badge crowdin]][crowdin] Mask Network is a portal to the new, open internet, that bridge from Web2.0 to Web3.0 . With Mask Network, you can send encrypted posts to your friends, trade your best token on X (formerly Twitter), enjoy NFT pfps, participate in crypto lucky draws, and share encrypted files on the platforms you are already using. For…
read the full Maskbook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is writefreely or Maskbook more popular?
writefreely has 5,283 GitHub stars and Maskbook has 1,588. 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 (5,283 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.