head to head · open source
ego-lite vs Harper
ego-lite has 21,332 GitHub stars, 1,193 forks, 169 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Harper has 17,365 stars, 794 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ego-lite leads on adoption by 23% (21,332 vs 17,365 stars). ego-lite is written in JavaScript under MIT; Harper is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. ego-lite has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Harper 5%. Harper 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
| ego-lite | Harper | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.2K | ⑂ 794 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ego-lite if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Harper if
- You want the Harper feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Harper fits your workflow better
About ego-lite
The fastest browser for AI agents to run browser automation ego (lite) is a browser where you and your AI agents work in parallel. Your agents run multiple browser tasks in their own Spaces while your tabs stay yours, and tasks complete faster on fewer tokens. Existing tools like browser use and agent browser are browser automation frameworks: they need a separate browser to drive, logins never carry cleanly, and you and the agent end up fighting for the same tabs. ego lite is one browser designed from the start for the two of you to share. No extra setup, and the agent can always reach your real logins and tabs…
read the full ego-lite overview →
About Harper
Harper Harper is an English grammar checker designed to be just right. I created it after years of dealing with the shortcomings of the competition. Grammarly was too expensive and too overbearing. Its suggestions lacked context, and were often just plain wrong . Not to mention: it's a privacy nightmare. Everything you write with Grammarly is sent to their servers. Their privacy policy claims they don't sell the data, but that doesn't mean they don't use it to train large language models and god knows what else. Not only that, but the round trip time of the network request makes revising your work all the more…
read the full Harper overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ego-lite or Harper more popular?
ego-lite has 21,332 GitHub stars and Harper has 17,365. ego-lite has the larger community by that measure.
Are ego-lite and Harper free?
Both are open source. ego-lite is licensed under MIT and Harper under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ego-lite and Harper?
ego-lite is written in JavaScript and Harper 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, ego-lite or Harper?
Choose ego-lite if you want the larger community (21,332 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Harper if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.