GNU License

Free Software Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The GNU General Public Licenses are a family of free, copyleft software licenses created to guarantee users the freedom to run, study, share, and modify software while ensuring those freedoms are preserved when the software is distributed.

They require that anyone who distributes GPL-licensed software or derivative works also provide access to the corresponding source code under the same GPL terms, prohibit adding further restrictions beyond the license, and permit commercial use without extra fees.

According to our data, GNU is the second most popular open-source license on the web.
It has 9% of the license market share and is detected on 0.04% of all websites.

It is especially popular in Germany, appearing on 0.09% of all websites in the country.

Statistics based on 4M+ analyzed websites. About this data

📊 Rankings and Market Share

🏆 GNU License Awards

⚡ Sites Using GNU License

We have data on 1,533 websites that use the GNU license. Here is a list of some of the top ranked ones.

The highest rated site using GNU is framadate.org.

#WebsiteRankCountryLanguage
1 framadate.org #21,421 French
2 near-place.com #23,335 Israel English
3 sarna.net #28,853 United States English
4 cgsecurity.org #30,480 France English
5 pdfsam.org #37,594 English
6 userstyles.world #52,485 Netherlands English
7 mamedev.org #52,530 France English
8 invidious.io #54,134 Iceland American English
9 outreachy.org #54,243 United States English
10 wireshark.org #57,407 English
11 cloud-init.io #58,063 United Kingdom English
12 x2go.org #65,277 Germany English
13 dandwiki.com #68,330 English
14 fireemblemwiki.org #83,177 English
15 wikirby.com #84,249 English
16 framaforms.org #92,763 France French
17 joedolson.com #102,120 United States American English
18 trisquel.info #103,449 Spain English
19 camera-wiki.org #108,161 English
20 inkscape.org #110,145 United States English

📈 Usage Statistics

Most of the sites that use GNU:

Most of the sites using GNU License are from Germany, the United States, and France.

  • Germany 16.6%
  • United States 12.9%
  • France 7.7%
  • Italy 5%
  • United Kingdom 4.7%
  • Spain 4.4%
  • Japan 4%
  • Russia 3.4%
  • Czechia 2.7%
  • Other 38.6%

Most GNU License users speak English, German, or Spanish.

  • English 50%
  • German 11.1%
  • Spanish 5.8%
  • French 4.6%
  • Russian 3.9%
  • Italian 3.4%
  • Japanese 2.9%
  • Thai 2%
  • Polish 2%
  • Other 14.3%

The GNU license is especially popular on .com, .org, and .de top-level domains.

  • .com 23%
  • .org 23%
  • .de 9.3%
  • .net 5.5%
  • .it 2.8%
  • .ru 2.5%
  • .fr 1.7%
  • .cz 1.6%
  • .pl 1.5%
  • Other 29.1%

The primary market segments for websites utilizing GNU License include software and hardware, blogs and wiki, and education and reference.

  • Software/Hardware 19.7%
  • Blogs/Wiki 9.6%
  • Education/Reference 8.7%
  • Internet Services 8.5%
  • Business 8.2%
  • Marketing/Merchandising 5.9%
  • Technical/Business Forums 5.1%
  • Technical Information 4.8%
  • Games 4.2%
  • Other 25.3%

🔢 GNU License Versions

The most popular version of GNU License is GPL 2.0, used by 51.5% of sites where versions were detected. In addition, 19.1% of sites use GNU License GPL, and 9.5% use GNU License FDL.

  • GPL 2.0 51.5%
  • GPL 19.1%
  • FDL 9.5%
  • GPL 3.0 8.4%
  • AGPL 3.0 4.6%
  • FDL 1.3 2.5%
  • LGPL 2%
  • AGPL 1%
  • GPL 3 0.9%
  • Other 0.5%

🕵️ Similar Technologies

These are some of the best GNU License alternatives.

RankName
1
Creative Commons License
Mountain View, California, United States

A set of standardized copyright licenses that let creators share their works with the public while clearly defining how others may use, remix, or redistribute them under specific conditions.
3
MIT License
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

A permissive software license that allows reuse, modification, distribution, and commercial use without requiring source code disclosure.
4
Apache License
Wilmington, Delaware, United States

A permissive software license that allows use, modification, distribution, and commercial use without requiring source code disclosure.
5
BSD License
Boulder, Colorado, United States

A family of permissive free software licenses that allow software to be used, modified, and redistributed with minimal restrictions.
6
MPL License
Mountain View, California, United States

A free and open-source weak copyleft license that is more restrictive than the permissive software BSD-style licenses.

🆚 Compare Alternatives

Compare GNU License to…

💬 Frequently Asked Questions

What is the company behind GNU License?

GNU License is owned by the Free Software Foundation, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Which country uses GNU License the most?

The majority of GNU License users are from Germany.

Who uses GNU License?

According to our data, GNU License is used on over a thousand sites, including such established ones as framadate.org, near-place.com, and sarna.net.

How does GNU License stack up against the competition?

GNU License is one of the most popular open-source licenses, second only to Creative Commons License.

What are the alternatives to GNU License?

Alternatives and possible competitors to GNU License may include MPL License, Creative Commons License, and MIT License.

👉 See Also

🗃️ About This Data