head to head · open source
stagehand vs Automa
stagehand has 24,565 GitHub stars, 1,698 forks, 376 open issues and last shipped today. Automa has 21,630 stars, 2,340 forks, 377 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. stagehand leads on adoption by 14% (24,565 vs 21,630 stars). stagehand is written in TypeScript under MIT; Automa is written in Vue under a custom or non-standard licence. stagehand has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Automa 11%. stagehand was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser-automation), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| stagehand | Automa | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-03-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick stagehand if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Automa if
- You want the Automa feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and Automa fits your workflow better
About stagehand
Stagehand is the MIT licensed SDK for extracting data and interacting with any site on the web, available in TypeScript, Python, and Go, and aimed at developers building AI agents that need to drive a browser the way a person does rather than at engineers writing test suites.
read the full stagehand overview →
About Automa
Automa browser extension. Automate browser by connect blocks. Vue project. Chrome and Firefox ecosystem. Problem: repeat browser tasks take time. User make workflow with blocks. No code write. Workflows do form fill, repetitive task, screenshot, scrape website data. Can schedule when automation execute. Marketplace share and download workflow. Automa Chrome Extension Builder make standalone Chrome extension from Automa workflow. Project lives as browser extension, not hosted automation service. The project also lists Chrome and Firefox extension downloads.
read the full Automa overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is stagehand or Automa more popular?
stagehand has 24,565 GitHub stars and Automa has 21,630. stagehand has the larger community by that measure.
Are stagehand and Automa free?
Both are open source. stagehand is licensed under MIT, and Automa has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between stagehand and Automa?
stagehand is written in TypeScript and Automa in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, stagehand or Automa?
Choose stagehand if you want the larger community (24,565 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Automa if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.