head to head · open source
puppeteer vs netbeans
puppeteer has 95,791 GitHub stars, 9,600 forks, 259 open issues and last shipped yesterday. netbeans has 3,145 stars, 944 forks, 1,081 open issues and last shipped yesterday. puppeteer leads on adoption by 2,946% (95,791 vs 3,145 stars). puppeteer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; netbeans is written in Java under Apache-2.0. puppeteer has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, netbeans 30%. puppeteer 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
| puppeteer | netbeans | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 944 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick puppeteer if
- You weight community size — 96K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick netbeans if
- You want the netbeans feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and netbeans fits your workflow better
About puppeteer
Puppeteer Puppeteer is a JavaScript library which provides a high level API to control Chrome or Firefox over the DevTools Protocol or WebDriver BiDi. Puppeteer runs in the headless (no visible UI) by default Get started API FAQ Contributing Troubleshooting Installation :::note Modern package managers (including npm (see the RFC), pnpm, Yarn, Bun, and Deno) block dependency install scripts by default. If the install script is blocked, Puppeteer will not download the browser during installation, leading to runtime errors. You can manually download the required browsers after installation by running…
read the full puppeteer overview →
About netbeans
Apache NetBeans Apache NetBeans is an open source development environment, tooling platform, and application framework. Build status GitHub actions Apache Jenkins: Linux: Windows: License Status ( Apache Rat and ant verify libs and licenses ) Requirements Git Ant JDK 21 or above (to build and run NetBeans) Notes: NetBeans license violation checks are managed via the rat exclusions.txt file. Set JAVA HOME and ANT HOME appropriately or leave them undefined. Building NetBeans Build the default release config (See the cluster.config property.) Build the basic project (mainly Java features): Build the full project…
read the full netbeans overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is puppeteer or netbeans more popular?
puppeteer has 95,791 GitHub stars and netbeans has 3,145. puppeteer has the larger community by that measure.
Are puppeteer and netbeans free?
Both are open source. puppeteer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and netbeans under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between puppeteer and netbeans?
puppeteer is written in TypeScript and netbeans in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, puppeteer or netbeans?
Choose puppeteer if you want the larger community (95,791 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose netbeans if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.