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Stagehand vs Lightpanda: catalog facts
Stagehand	Lightpanda
Free Free and open source under the MIT license.	Free The open-source browser is free to install with no signup.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Linux, Command line
Familiar Playwright-style API lowers the learning curve Persists sessions so logins do not need to be repeated	Much lower memory use than headless Chrome in published benchmarks Built from scratch rather than patched from an existing browser
Local runs require Chrome to be installed Best used alongside an LLM and browser infrastructure you provide	No graphical rendering, so not a browser for everyday browsing Pages that depend on full Chrome behaviour may not work the same way
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.