head to head · open source
Browser Use vs ArchiveBox
Browser Use has 115,603 GitHub stars, 12,718 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. ArchiveBox has 28,553 stars, 1,604 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Browser Use leads on adoption by 305% (115,603 vs 28,553 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; ArchiveBox is written in Python under MIT. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, ArchiveBox 6%. ArchiveBox was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Browser Use | ArchiveBox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 116K | ★ 29K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Browser Use if
- You weight community size — 116K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ArchiveBox if
- You want the ArchiveBox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ArchiveBox fits your workflow better
About Browser Use
Browser Use is an open source Python library and hosted platform that enables AI agents to control web browsers programmatically. It lives in the AI agent and browser automation ecosystem, built on Playwright and designed to let LLMs interact with websites as a human would—clicking, filling forms, solving CAPTCHAs, and navigating dynamic interfaces. The project provides three deployment paths: a fully hosted cloud service, a command line interface for existing agents, and a local Python library for custom integrations.
read the full Browser Use overview →
About ArchiveBox
ArchiveBox is an open source, self hosted web archiving application that lets individuals and organizations preserve public and private web content in durable, readable formats while keeping control of their own data.
read the full ArchiveBox overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or ArchiveBox more popular?
Browser Use has 115,603 GitHub stars and ArchiveBox has 28,553. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and ArchiveBox free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT and ArchiveBox under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Browser Use and ArchiveBox?
Browser Use is written in Python and ArchiveBox in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Browser Use or ArchiveBox?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (115,603 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ArchiveBox if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.