head to head · open source
lighthouse vs SnapOtter
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars, 9,785 forks, 470 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. SnapOtter has 2,929 stars, 174 forks, 208 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lighthouse leads on adoption by 959% (31,005 vs 2,929 stars). lighthouse is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; SnapOtter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. lighthouse has attracted 32% as many forks as stars, SnapOtter 6%. SnapOtter 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 | SnapOtter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.8K | ⑂ 174 |
| 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 SnapOtter if
- You want the SnapOtter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and SnapOtter 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 SnapOtter
Open source, self hosted file processing infrastructure. Convert, compress, OCR, transcribe, strip metadata, and run local AI across image, video, audio, PDF, and documents, through a UI, REST API, and pipelines. Your files never leave your network. The one self hosted stack that replaces CloudConvert, Smallpdf, TinyPNG, TinyWow, and Otter.ai. 200+ tools across five modalities, on hardware you own. Stirling PDF stops at PDFs. ConvertX stops at conversions. SnapOtter runs all five, and your files never leave your server. Edit images, convert video, transcribe audio, repair PDFs, batch your files: one Docker…
read the full SnapOtter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lighthouse or SnapOtter more popular?
lighthouse has 31,005 GitHub stars and SnapOtter has 2,929. lighthouse has the larger community by that measure.
Are lighthouse and SnapOtter free?
Both are open source. lighthouse is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SnapOtter under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lighthouse and SnapOtter?
lighthouse is written in JavaScript and SnapOtter in TypeScript. 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 SnapOtter?
Choose lighthouse if you want the larger community (31,005 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SnapOtter if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.