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NetSurf vs Nordstjernen: catalog facts
NetSurf	Nordstjernen
Free Free and open source under the GPL version 2.	Free Free to download; the source is available but not under an open-source licence.
macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Very small and light on resources Independent layout engine written in C	Independent engine not based on Chromium, Gecko or WebKit Development tracked against the HTML specification
Limited support for modern script-heavy websites Not a replacement for a mainstream browser on current sites	Source-available rather than open source; Northstar is the GPL sibling A from-scratch engine may not render every site correctly
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0	License: Source-available
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.