head to head · open source
Browser Use vs Windmill
Browser Use has 114,959 GitHub stars, 12,651 forks, 421 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Windmill has 17,957 stars, 1,096 forks, 852 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Browser Use leads on adoption by 540% (114,959 vs 17,957 stars). Browser Use is written in Python under MIT; Windmill is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence. Browser Use has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Windmill 6%. Windmill was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (python), 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 | Windmill | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 115K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 13K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 Windmill if
- You want the Windmill feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Windmill 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 Windmill
Windmill is an open source developer platform for internal code, including APIs, background jobs, workflows, and UIs. It lives in the self hostable low code automation ecosystem and supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL, GraphQL, PowerShell, Rust, and more. The project is positioned as an open source alternative to Zapier and, in the README, to Retool, Pipedream, Superblocks, and a simplified Temporal.
read the full Windmill overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Browser Use or Windmill more popular?
Browser Use has 114,959 GitHub stars and Windmill has 17,957. Browser Use has the larger community by that measure.
Are Browser Use and Windmill free?
Both are open source. Browser Use is licensed under MIT, and Windmill has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Browser Use and Windmill?
Browser Use is written in Python and Windmill in Rust. 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 Windmill?
Choose Browser Use if you want the larger community (114,959 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Windmill if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.