LightpandavsUnderstudy
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Lightpanda | Understudy | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 48/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 11 in Browser Automation | #110 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 37 171 | 465 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +370 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 11 | 0 |
| Latest release | 1.0.2 · 22 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Zig | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Lightpanda scores 79/100 against 48/100 for Understudy, so it is the safer default.
Lightpanda ships more often: 11 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Understudy.
If you want the quickest setup, Lightpanda is easier to run; Understudy needs more configuration.
Lightpanda is growing faster right now (+370 stars in 30 days).
Lightpanda details →Understudy details →
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