head to head · open source
puppeteer vs ProcessWire
puppeteer has 95,591 GitHub stars, 9,579 forks, 259 open issues and last shipped today. ProcessWire has 1,152 stars, 207 forks, 93 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. puppeteer leads on adoption by 8,198% (95,591 vs 1,152 stars). puppeteer is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; ProcessWire is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence. puppeteer has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ProcessWire 18%. 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 | ProcessWire | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 96K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.6K | ⑂ 207 |
| 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 ProcessWire if
- You want the ProcessWire feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and ProcessWire 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 ProcessWire
ProcessWire is an open source PHP content management system and framework (CMS/CMF) with a strong API, aimed at web developers, designers, and the clients who maintain the sites they build.
read the full ProcessWire overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is puppeteer or ProcessWire more popular?
puppeteer has 95,591 GitHub stars and ProcessWire has 1,152. puppeteer has the larger community by that measure.
Are puppeteer and ProcessWire free?
Both are open source. puppeteer is licensed under Apache-2.0, and ProcessWire has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between puppeteer and ProcessWire?
puppeteer is written in TypeScript and ProcessWire in PHP. 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 ProcessWire?
Choose puppeteer if you want the larger community (95,591 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ProcessWire if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.