head to head · open source
n8n vs Lightpanda
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars, 60,739 forks, 1,143 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lightpanda has 35,409 stars, 1,680 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped yesterday. n8n leads on adoption by 479% (204,887 vs 35,409 stars). n8n is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Lightpanda is written in Zig under AGPL-3.0. n8n has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, Lightpanda 5%. n8n 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
| n8n | Lightpanda | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 205K | ★ 35K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Zig |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 61K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick n8n if
- You weight community size — 205K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Lightpanda if
- You want the Lightpanda feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Zig
- You evaluated both and Lightpanda fits your workflow better
About n8n
n8n is a visual workflow automation platform built in TypeScript that combines a drag and drop editor with custom code execution. It lives in the integration and automation ecosystem, positioned as an open alternative to proprietary services like Zapier. Users design multi step workflows—called “n8n flows”—that connect apps, services, and custom logic to automate repetitive tasks.
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is n8n or Lightpanda more popular?
n8n has 204,887 GitHub stars and Lightpanda has 35,409. n8n has the larger community by that measure.
Are n8n and Lightpanda free?
Both are open source. n8n has no licence declared in this registry, and Lightpanda is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between n8n and Lightpanda?
n8n is written in TypeScript and Lightpanda in Zig. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, n8n or Lightpanda?
Choose n8n if you want the larger community (204,887 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Lightpanda if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.