The character of Dan Humphrey comes from Gossip Girl. He was a quiet and shy young man who literally wrote himself into a world of popularity that he otherwise never would have been able to reach. He did this by creating the persona of Gossip Girl and making himself relevant.

RELATED: Penn Badgley: All About His Time On Netflix’s YOU And Gossip Girl

The character of Joe Goldberg comes from Netflix’s YOU. Just like Dan Humphrey, he comes across as being a quiet and shy young man who admires the women he likes from afar while plotting the ways he will get what he's after. Both characters are played by Penn Badgley and both characters are extremely comparable. They have some major similarities and differences to address.

10 Similar: Both Fell For Beautiful Blondes

On Gossip Girl, Dan Humphrey fell in love with the beautiful blonde bombshell named Serena van der Woodson. At first, she wasn’t giving him the time of day but eventually, she gave him a chance. Ultimately, the two ended up together!

On Netflix’s YOU, Joe Goldberg fell in love with Guinevere Beck. She is another beautiful blonde, just like Serena. Joe saw beautiful Beck while she was shopping for books at his bookstore and was instantly enticed by her.

9 Different: Dan Never Murdered Anyone, Joe Did

Dan Humphrey never ended anyone’s life. Joe Goldberg on the other hand very much did. Joe Goldberg was ruthless throughout seasons 1 and 2 of Netflix’s YOU. Anyone who got in the way of his relationships was potentially in line to lose their life. Let’s go down the list of who Joe killed… Benji, Peach Salinger, Elijah, Ron, Jasper, Henderson, and potentially Beck-- But we don’t know that Beck is actually dead for sure since we've never seen her body.

8 Similar: Both Fell For Beautiful Brunettes

Dan Humphrey eventually fell in love with Blair Waldorf, even though she was Serena's best friend. Remember when Dan’s book got published, everyone in the group realized that the love story Dan wrote was intended for the character of Blair-- not Serena? His love for Blair was legitimate!

In season 2 of Netflix’s YOU, Joe Goldberg fell in love with Love Quinn. She is a beautiful brunette who turned out to be just as crazy as he was, if not crazier. He definitely met his match when he met Love Quinn.

7 Different: Joe’s Childhood Was Traumatic, Dan’s Was Not

From the small flashbacks and scenes that viewers were able to see on Netflix’s YOU, it is obvious that Joe Goldberg's childhood was traumatic. He was raised by a really mean man named Mr. Mooney who would keep him trapped in a glass prison as a punishment. We also know that something traumatic must have happened with Joe Goldberg's biological mother although we don’t know what that is quite yet. Dan Humphrey, on the other hand, did not have such a traumatic childhood by any means.

6 Similar: Both Secretly Stalk The Girls They Love

On Gossip Girl, Dan Humphrey was able to stalk any girl he was interested in by taking on the persona of Gossip Girl through his website. People would send in tips and rumors about Serena, Blair, and pretty much every person at the high school for him to be able to keep tabs. He would then post those rumors and tips on to the Gossip Girl website. Definitely the behaviors of a stalker.

RELATED: Gossip Girl: Proof That Chuck And Blair Were Better Than Dan And Serena

Joe Goldberg‘s way of stalking was way more obvious and blatant. He would choose a female target, search through her social media profiles, follow her around where she hung out, take a note of her friend circle, and figure out how to infiltrate his way into her heart.

5 Different: Dan Is Close With His Family, Joe Is Not

Dan Humphrey was really close to his father, Rufus Humphrey, and his little sister, Jenny Humphrey. Even though Dan's mother was out of the picture, in the couple of episodes that she was featured in, Dan was really close to her as well! Joe Goldberg, on the other hand, was clearly not close to his family members. His adoptive father was cruel and his biological mother has unknown issues that we will hopefully uncover in season 3.

4 Similar: Both Are Extremely Tech Savvy

Dan Humphrey proved himself to be extremely tech-savvy when he created and navigated an entire gossip website. He anonymously hosted the website and allowed people from all over Manhattan to submit anonymous gossip tips to him at all hours of the day and night. There is no doubt about it… He knew what he was doing when it came to technology.

RELATED: Netflix's YOU: Actresses We Want To Be Joe's Next Target In Season 3

Joe Goldberg is just as tech-savvy. For one thing, he was able to hack into Beck’s phone in order to read her text messages without her knowing it. He was also really great when it came to “investigating” the girls he liked by digging through their social media profiles, looking for every little detail that could work in his favor.

3 Different: Their Reactions To Illegal Substances

Dan Humphrey and Joe Goldberg had very different reactions to the use of illegal substances although to be clear, the illegal substances that they used were vastly different. Dan Humphrey was offered an illegal substance in pill form from Chuck Bass when they were at a nightclub. His night ended up going completely fine other than the fact that Chuck stole his shoes. When Joe Goldberg unknowingly took illegal substances with Forty Quinn, he totally blacked out and didn’t remember what he did. That was the night that he thought he killed Delilah.

2 Similar: Dan & Joe Both Love Books

Dan Humphrey and Joe Goldberg are very similar when it comes to their love for books. Dan Humphrey is actually a writer who ended up writing a best-selling novel about his friend circle called “Inside”, a scathing tell-all about Serena, Blair, Chuck, and the rest of the crew. Joe Goldberg runs a bookstore which pretty much says it all… He obviously loves owning books, loves taking care of books, and loves reading books since he is willing to manage an entire bookstore.

1 Different: Joe Is Beyond Controlling, Dan Is Pretty Chill

One of the hugest differences between Joe Goldberg and Dan Humphrey is the fact that Joe is extremely controlling while Dan is super relaxed. Joe NEEDS to have who he wants in his life no matter what and he will stop at nothing to make sure that he gets what he wants. Dan, on the other hand, understands that if a romance is fizzling out, it’s not the end of the world. Dan went through breakups with Serena, Vanessa, and Blair before ultimately reconciling with and marrying Serena at the end. Every single time Dan went through a breakup, he wasn’t trying to go out and kill someone or act psycho the way Joe always did.

NEXT: Netflix's YOU Characters Ranked From Normal To Total Psycho