head to head · open source
lighthouse vs Harden-Windows-Security
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars, 9,785 forks, 470 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Harden-Windows-Security has 4,825 stars, 345 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. lighthouse leads on adoption by 543% (31,005 vs 4,825 stars). lighthouse is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; Harden-Windows-Security is written in C# under MIT. lighthouse has attracted 32% as many forks as stars, Harden-Windows-Security 7%. lighthouse was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (audit), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| lighthouse | Harden-Windows-Security | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.8K | ⑂ 345 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick lighthouse if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Harden-Windows-Security if
- You want the Harden-Windows-Security feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Harden-Windows-Security fits your workflow better
About lighthouse
Lighthouse Lighthouse analyzes web apps and web pages, collecting modern performance metrics and insights on developer best practices. Using Lighthouse Using Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools Using the Chrome extension Using the Node CLI CLI options Using the Node module Viewing a report Online Viewer Docs & Recipes Developing Lighthouse Setup Run Tests Docs Associated Products and Projects Lighthouse Integrations in Web Perf services Lighthouse Integrations in non Web Perf services Plugins Related projects FAQ How does Lighthouse work? Can I configure the lighthouse run? How does Lighthouse use network throttling…
read the full lighthouse overview →
About Harden-Windows-Security
Harden Windows Security A New Threat to Malware Harden Windows Safely, Securely, Only With Official Microsoft Methods How To Use Related Trust Support Security Recommendations Resources License Wiki Basic FAQs Roadmap Donation [!IMPORTANT]\ Here are Quick Access Points to Important Sections of this Repository Harden System Security App AppControl Manager App Application Control for Business Resources [!NOTE]\ This repository only uses the features that have already been implemented by Microsoft in Windows OS to fine tune it towards the highest security and locked down state, without relying on any 3rd party…
read the full Harden-Windows-Security overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Compliance & Risk Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Compliance & Risk Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is lighthouse or Harden-Windows-Security more popular?
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars and Harden-Windows-Security has 4,825. lighthouse has the larger community by that measure.
Are lighthouse and Harden-Windows-Security free?
Both are open source. lighthouse is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Harden-Windows-Security under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lighthouse and Harden-Windows-Security?
lighthouse is written in JavaScript and Harden-Windows-Security 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, lighthouse or Harden-Windows-Security?
Choose lighthouse if you want the larger community (31,005 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Harden-Windows-Security if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.