head to head · open source
Browser Use vs browserless
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars, 13,358 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped yesterday. browserless has 1,843 stars, 93 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Browser Use leads on adoption by 6,403% (119,857 vs 1,843 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; browserless is written in JavaScript under MIT. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, browserless 5%. browserless was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | browserless | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 120K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 93 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Browser Use if
- You weight community size — 120K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick browserless if
- You want the browserless feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and browserless fits your workflow better
About Browser Use
Navigate the web like a human does. Find an available slot, pick a date and time, handle the CAPTCHA, and book a driving test. Explore more demos and prompts ↗ Which Browser Use do I need? Path 1: Fully Hosted Cloud: Scale up with a fully hosted agent and browser. Path 2: CLI: Automate your own browser tasks. Path 3: Python Library: Run the open source Browser Use agent locally from your own code. Quickstart Path 1: Fully Hosted Cloud Scale browser automation with our hosted agent, stealth browsers, and infrastructure for profiles, recordings, and data policies. Get started with the API ↗ New Google, GitHub, or…
read the full Browser Use overview →
About browserless
The headless Chrome/Chromium driver on top of Puppeteer. Highlights Installation Usage The cloud API solution CLI Initializing a browser .constructor(options) .createContext(options) .browser() .respawn() .close() Built in .html(url, options) .text(url, options) .pdf(url, options) .screenshot(url, options) .destroyContext(options) .getDevice(options) .evaluate(fn, gotoOpts) .goto(page, options) .context() [.withPage(fn, \[options\])]( withpagefn options) [.page(\[name\])]( pagename) Extended ai function lighthouse screencast Packages FAQ License Highlights Compatible with Puppeteer API (text, screenshot, html…
read the full browserless overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or browserless more popular?
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars and browserless has 1,843. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and browserless free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT and browserless under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Browser Use and browserless?
Browser Use is written in Python and browserless in JavaScript. 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 browserless?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (119,857 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose browserless if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.