# Lightpanda vs gpt-researcher

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Lightpanda | gpt-researcher |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 80/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in Browser Automation | #5 of 69 in AI Chat |
| GitHub stars | 37 102 ✓ | 30 338 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +301 | +745 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 | 13 ✓ |
| Latest release | 1.0.2 · 22 Oct 2026 ✓ | v3.7.0 · 26 Sept 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Zig | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

gpt-researcher scores 80/100 against 79/100 for Lightpanda, so it is the safer default.

gpt-researcher ships more often: 13 stable releases in the past year, against 11 for Lightpanda.

If you want the quickest setup, Lightpanda is easier to run; gpt-researcher needs more configuration.

gpt-researcher is growing faster right now (+745 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Lightpanda](https://selfhost.directory/project/browser) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/browser.md)
- [gpt-researcher](https://selfhost.directory/project/gpt-researcher) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/gpt-researcher.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/browser-vs-gpt-researcher