head to head · open source
Browser Use vs ESPresense
Browser Use has 115,022 GitHub stars, 12,661 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ESPresense has 1,478 stars, 184 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Browser Use leads on adoption by 7,682% (115,022 vs 1,478 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 12%. 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 | ★ 115K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 184 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Browser Use if
- You weight community size — 115K 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
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 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 115,022 GitHub stars and ESPresense has 1,478. 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 (115,022 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ESPresense if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.