head to head · open source
Browser Use vs ESPresense
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars, 13,358 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ESPresense has 1,500 stars, 190 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Browser Use leads on adoption by 7,890% (119,857 vs 1,500 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; ESPresense is written in C under AGPL-3.0. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, ESPresense 13%. ESPresense 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 | ESPresense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 120K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 190 |
| 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 ESPresense if
- You want the ESPresense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ESPresense 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 ESPresense
ESPresense An ESP32 based presence detection node for use with the Home Assistant mqtt room component or ESPresense companion for indoor positioning Documentation: Building: building. Release Notes: changelog. trigger CI
read the full ESPresense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or ESPresense more popular?
Browser Use has 119,857 GitHub stars and ESPresense has 1,500. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and ESPresense free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT and ESPresense under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Browser Use and ESPresense?
Browser Use is written in Python and ESPresense in C. 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 ESPresense?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (119,857 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ESPresense if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.