head to head · open source
puppeteer vs Palform
puppeteer has 95,591 GitHub stars, 9,579 forks, 259 open issues and last shipped today. Palform has 45 stars, 2 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. puppeteer leads on adoption by 212,324% (95,591 vs 45 stars). puppeteer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Palform is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. puppeteer has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Palform 4%. 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 | Palform | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 45 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 2 |
| 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 Palform if
- You want the Palform feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Palform fits your workflow better
About puppeteer
Puppeteer is an Apache 2.0 JavaScript and TypeScript library that provides a high level API for driving Chrome and Firefox over the DevTools Protocol or WebDriver BiDi, written for developers who automate browsers from Node.js.
read the full puppeteer overview →
About Palform
Palform is an open source form builder built around end to end encryption, released under the AGPL 3.0 license. It is written primarily in Rust and JavaScript, and it lives in the Rust ecosystem: the backend uses the Rocket web framework with SeaORM, while encryption and shared logic are compiled to WebAssembly so that the same code runs in the browser and on the server. The entire codebase is open source, including the marketing pages, and this repository is stated to contain everything needed to operate the service. A free hosted instance runs at palform.app on European hosted servers.
read the full Palform overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is puppeteer or Palform more popular?
puppeteer has 95,591 GitHub stars and Palform has 45. puppeteer has the larger community by that measure.
Are puppeteer and Palform free?
Both are open source. puppeteer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Palform under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between puppeteer and Palform?
puppeteer is written in TypeScript and Palform in Rust. 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 Palform?
Choose puppeteer if you want the larger community (95,591 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Palform if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.