head to head · open source
Lightpanda vs better_thermostat
Lightpanda has 40,882 GitHub stars, 1,999 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped yesterday. better_thermostat has 1,539 stars, 192 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightpanda leads on adoption by 2,556% (40,882 vs 1,539 stars). Lightpanda is written in Zig under AGPL-3.0; better_thermostat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Lightpanda has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, better_thermostat 12%. better_thermostat 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
| Lightpanda | better_thermostat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Zig | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 192 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Lightpanda if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Zig
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick better_thermostat if
- You want the better_thermostat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and better_thermostat fits your workflow better
About Lightpanda
Lightpanda Browser The headless browser built from scratch for AI agents and automation. Not a Chromium fork. Not a WebKit patch. A new browser, written in Zig.   Benchmarks Requesting 933 real web pages over the network on a AWS EC2 m5.large instance. See benchmark details. Quick start Install Package Managers Latest nightly from Homebrew: Latest nightly from Arch Linux User Repository: Download from the nightly builds You can download the last binary from the nightly builds for Linux and MacOS for both x86 64 and aarch64. For Linux Verify the binary before running anything: Linux aarch64 is also available…
read the full Lightpanda overview →
About better_thermostat
Better Thermostat For more info visit: Requirements Minimum required Home Assistant version: 2026.7.2 ( continuously tested against Home Assistant ) Companion UI We've created a companion UI element which can display more information than the default thermostat element in Home Assistant. Check it out via HACS: better thermostat ui card If you have a question or need help please create a new discussion or check if your question is already answered If you have a suggestion, found a bug, or want to add a new device or function create a new issue If you want to contribute to this project create a new pull request…
read the full better_thermostat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Lightpanda or better_thermostat more popular?
Lightpanda has 40,882 GitHub stars and better_thermostat has 1,539. Lightpanda has the larger community by that measure.
Are Lightpanda and better_thermostat free?
Both are open source. Lightpanda is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and better_thermostat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Lightpanda and better_thermostat?
Lightpanda is written in Zig and better_thermostat in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Lightpanda or better_thermostat?
Choose Lightpanda if you want the larger community (40,882 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose better_thermostat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.