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XAMPP vs DDEV: catalog facts
XAMPP	DDEV
Free Free to download and use. Components are under their own open-source licences.	Free Free and open source under the Apache-2.0 license, funded by sponsorships.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
One installer produces a working Apache, MariaDB and PHP environment Control panel starts and stops each service without editing config files	Sets up PHP and Node.js environments quickly Project configuration can be version controlled and shared
Configured for convenience, not security; it is not meant to face the internet Bundled component versions lag upstream releases	Requires a Docker provider to be installed first macOS setup recommends at least 8GB of RAM
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

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