head to head · open source
Browser Use vs fess
Browser Use has 115,379 GitHub stars, 12,695 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. fess has 1,137 stars, 175 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped today. Browser Use leads on adoption by 10,048% (115,379 vs 1,137 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; fess is written in Java under Apache-2.0. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, fess 15%. fess was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), 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 | fess | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 115K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 175 |
| 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 fess if
- You want the fess feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and fess 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 fess
Fess is an open source, self hosted enterprise and site search server built on OpenSearch, intended for teams and site owners who need to crawl, index, and search their own web, file, database, and cloud content without sending it to a hosted search provider.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or fess more popular?
Browser Use has 115,379 GitHub stars and fess has 1,137. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and fess free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT and fess under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Browser Use and fess?
Browser Use is written in Python and fess 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 fess?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (115,379 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose fess if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.