head to head · open source
Ladybird vs ego-lite
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars, 3,194 forks, 535 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ego-lite has 21,332 stars, 1,193 forks, 169 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ladybird leads on adoption by 213% (66,807 vs 21,332 stars). Ladybird is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; ego-lite is written in JavaScript under MIT. Ladybird has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, ego-lite 6%. Ladybird was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser), 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
| Ladybird | ego-lite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 67K | ★ 21K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ladybird if
- You weight community size — 67K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ego-lite if
- You want the ego-lite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and ego-lite fits your workflow better
About Ladybird
Ladybird Ladybird is a truly independent web browser, using a novel engine based on web standards. [!IMPORTANT] Ladybird is in a pre alpha state, and only suitable for use by developers Features We aim to build a complete, usable browser for the modern web. Ladybird uses a multi process architecture with a main UI process, several WebContent renderer processes, an ImageDecoder process, and a RequestServer process. Image decoding and network connections are done out of process to be more robust against malicious content. Each tab has its own renderer process, which is sandboxed from the rest of the system. At the…
read the full Ladybird overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ladybird or ego-lite more popular?
Ladybird has 66,807 GitHub stars and ego-lite has 21,332. Ladybird has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ladybird and ego-lite free?
Both are open source. Ladybird is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and ego-lite under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ladybird and ego-lite?
Ladybird is written in C++ and ego-lite in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Ladybird or ego-lite?
Choose Ladybird if you want the larger community (66,807 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose ego-lite if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.