head to head · open source
puppeteer vs PocketBase
puppeteer has 95,590 GitHub stars, 9,576 forks, 259 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PocketBase has 61,083 stars, 3,690 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. puppeteer leads on adoption by 56% (95,590 vs 61,083 stars). puppeteer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; PocketBase is written in Go under MIT. puppeteer has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, PocketBase 6%. 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 | PocketBase | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 61K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 3.7K |
| 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 PocketBase if
- You want the PocketBase feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and PocketBase 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 PocketBase
PocketBase is an open source backend framework written in Go that bundles a SQLite database, authentication, file storage, admin dashboard, and REST API into a single executable file. It lives in the Go ecosystem and targets developers who want a lightweight, self contained backend without managing separate services like PostgreSQL, Redis, or a separate auth server.
read the full PocketBase overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is puppeteer or PocketBase more popular?
puppeteer has 95,590 GitHub stars and PocketBase has 61,083. puppeteer has the larger community by that measure.
Are puppeteer and PocketBase free?
Both are open source. puppeteer is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PocketBase under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between puppeteer and PocketBase?
puppeteer is written in TypeScript and PocketBase in Go. 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 PocketBase?
Choose puppeteer if you want the larger community (95,590 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose PocketBase if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.