head to head · open source
lighthouse vs ossec-hids
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars, 9,785 forks, 470 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ossec-hids has 5,070 stars, 1,074 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lighthouse leads on adoption by 512% (31,005 vs 5,070 stars). lighthouse is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; ossec-hids is written in C under GPL-2.0. lighthouse has attracted 32% as many forks as stars, ossec-hids 21%. ossec-hids 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
| lighthouse | ossec-hids | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.8K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 ossec-hids if
- You want the ossec-hids feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ossec-hids 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 ossec-hids
OSSEC v4.3.0 Information about OSSEC OSSEC is a full platform to monitor and control your systems. It mixes together all the aspects of HIDS (host based intrusion detection), log monitoring and SIM/SIEM together in a simple, powerful and open source solution. Visit our website for the latest information. www.ossec.net Current Releases The current stable releases are available on the ossec website. Releases can be downloaded from: Downloads Release documentation is available at: docs Development The development version is hosted on GitHub and just a simple git clone away. Screenshots File Integrity Monitoring…
read the full ossec-hids overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lighthouse or ossec-hids more popular?
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars and ossec-hids has 5,070. lighthouse has the larger community by that measure.
Are lighthouse and ossec-hids free?
Both are open source. lighthouse is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ossec-hids under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lighthouse and ossec-hids?
lighthouse is written in JavaScript and ossec-hids 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 ossec-hids?
Choose lighthouse if you want the larger community (31,005 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ossec-hids if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.