head to head · open source
Lightpanda vs shesha-framework
Lightpanda has 35,418 GitHub stars, 1,681 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped today. shesha-framework has 509 stars, 143 forks, 430 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightpanda leads on adoption by 6,858% (35,418 vs 509 stars). Lightpanda is written in Zig under AGPL-3.0; shesha-framework is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Lightpanda has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, shesha-framework 28%. 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.
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Side by side
| Lightpanda | shesha-framework | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 35K | ★ 509 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Zig | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 143 |
| 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 shesha-framework if
- You want the shesha-framework feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and shesha-framework 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 shesha-framework
What is Shesha? Shesha is an open source Low Code development framework specifically for .NET developers. You can build anything from simple CRUD apps, admin panels to complex business applications super quickly. Shesha builds on top of other excellent frameworks and libraries (most notably ASP\.NET Core, Abp\.io, React, NextJs), layers on Low Code capabilities (think drag & drop form builder and app themer), and incorporates standard admin functionality (e.g. User and security management) to drastically reduce the time and effort required to build applications. In fact, in our experience, you will likely need 80…
read the full shesha-framework overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Lightpanda or shesha-framework more popular?
Lightpanda has 35,418 GitHub stars and shesha-framework has 509. Lightpanda has the larger community by that measure.
Are Lightpanda and shesha-framework free?
Both are open source. Lightpanda is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and shesha-framework under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Lightpanda and shesha-framework?
Lightpanda is written in Zig and shesha-framework 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, Lightpanda or shesha-framework?
Choose Lightpanda if you want the larger community (35,418 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose shesha-framework if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.