Lightpanda vs Steel
Learn how Lightpanda and Steel differ in their key features, development activity, technology
stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these browser automation tools is best for you.
Learn how Lightpanda and Steel differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these browser automation tools is best for you.
Lightpanda
Last 30 days
Last commit
12 hours agoRepository age
4 yearsLicense
AGPL-3.0Repository
lightpanda-io/browser
Steel
Last 30 days
Last commit
6 days agoRepository age
2 yearsVersion
v0.5.4-betaLicense
Apache-2.0Self-hosted
YesRepository
steel-dev/steel-browser
Detailed Comparison
Lightpanda appears to have several advantages over Steel, particularly in popularity, growth and maturity. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Lightpanda appears to have several advantages over Steel, particularly in popularity, growth and maturity. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.
Community & Popularity
Lightpanda significantly outpaces Steel in community adoption with 35,153 stars compared to 7,605 stars on GitHub. This 4.6x difference suggests Lightpanda has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Lightpanda has 1,662 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.
Growth Momentum
Lightpanda is growing faster, adding 1,516 stars in the last 30 days (+4.5%) against adding 149 stars for Steel (+2%). Lightpanda is both larger and pulling further ahead.
Development Activity
Both projects show recent activity, with Lightpanda last updated 12 hours ago and Steel 6 days ago.
Technology Stack
Lightpanda uses Golang, Rust, Zig while Steel leverages JavaScript, CSS, Bash, Typescript, JSX.
Project Maturity
Lightpanda has been in development longer, starting 4 years ago, compared to Steel which began 2 years ago. This 1.8-year head start suggests Lightpanda may have more mature features and established processes.
Licensing
The projects use different licenses: Lightpanda is licensed under AGPL-3.0 while Steel uses Apache-2.0. Consider the licensing requirements when choosing for your project.
Use Cases & Features
Both tools serve similar use cases in Browser Automation, Browser Automation for AI. However, they also have distinct specializations: Lightpanda also focuses on Scraping Platforms & SDKs.
Hosting & Deployment
Steel provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Lightpanda may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.
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