head to head · open source
Lightpanda vs OpenMQTTGateway
Lightpanda has 35,409 GitHub stars, 1,680 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenMQTTGateway has 4,095 stars, 905 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Lightpanda leads on adoption by 765% (35,409 vs 4,095 stars). Lightpanda is written in Zig under AGPL-3.0; OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. Lightpanda has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, OpenMQTTGateway 22%. Lightpanda 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Lightpanda | OpenMQTTGateway | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 4.1K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Zig | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 905 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Lightpanda if
- You weight community size — 35K 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 OpenMQTTGateway if
- You want the OpenMQTTGateway feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and OpenMQTTGateway fits your workflow better
About Lightpanda
Lightpanda is a headless browser built from scratch in Zig, designed specifically for AI agents and automation tasks. It is not a fork of Chromium or WebKit but a new implementation targeting performance and efficiency in automated web interactions. It lives in the browser automation ecosystem, competing with tools like Puppeteer and Playwright that typically rely on Chromium based headless modes.
read the full Lightpanda overview →
About OpenMQTTGateway
OpenMQTTGateway is an open source C++ gateway firmware for ESP8266 and ESP32 boards that connects local radio and sensor protocols to MQTT. It lives in the home automation ecosystem and is associated with Home Assistant, OpenHAB, NodeRed, and AWS IOT. The project aims to unify various technologies and protocols into a single firmware, reducing the need for multiple physical bridges.
read the full OpenMQTTGateway overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Automation projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Automation field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lightpanda or OpenMQTTGateway more popular?
Lightpanda has 35,409 GitHub stars and OpenMQTTGateway has 4,095. Lightpanda has the larger community by that measure.
Are Lightpanda and OpenMQTTGateway free?
Both are open source. Lightpanda is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenMQTTGateway under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Lightpanda and OpenMQTTGateway?
Lightpanda is written in Zig and OpenMQTTGateway 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, Lightpanda or OpenMQTTGateway?
Choose Lightpanda if you want the larger community (35,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenMQTTGateway if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.