head to head · open source
Browser Use vs ByteChef
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars, 13,358 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ByteChef has 1,053 stars, 178 forks, 455 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Browser Use leads on adoption by 11,282% (119,857 vs 1,053 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; ByteChef is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, ByteChef 17%. ByteChef was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai-agents, llm, mcp), 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 | ByteChef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 120K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 178 |
| 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 ByteChef if
- You want the ByteChef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and ByteChef 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 ByteChef
The open source platform that unifies AI agent orchestration and workflow automation Autonomy and precision — in one platform. Documentation · Live Demo · Discord · Connect on X · Roadmap [//]: ( ) [//]: ( About ByteChef) [//]: () [//]: (ByteChef is an open source platform for AI agents, workflow automation, and API integration.) [//]: () [//]: (Instead of using separate tools for AI agents and automated workflows, ByteChef brings both into a single platform with one orchestration layer, centralized management, and enterprise grade security.) [//]: () [//]: (Built for modern enterprises, ByteChef can run in…
read the full ByteChef overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or ByteChef more popular?
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars and ByteChef has 1,053. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and ByteChef free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT, and ByteChef has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Browser Use and ByteChef?
Browser Use is written in Python and ByteChef in Java. 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 ByteChef?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (119,857 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ByteChef if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.