Lightpanda review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Lightweight headless browser for automation and AI agents
Black Friday: is there a Lightpanda sale?
Lightpanda report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for headless browsing for crawlers and AI agents
Lightpanda is a headless browser engine in Zig for crawling, automation and AI agents. It runs JavaScript but draws no pages, so it is not a browser for reading the web, and the speed numbers on its site are its own.
Who Lightpanda is for
- Fits if you write crawlers or automations and want a light engine
- Makes sense if you run AI agents that need pages loaded without a screen
Who Lightpanda is not for
- Skip it if you want to read websites: it has no graphical interface
- Not for you if you avoid code, because it is driven through a command line and libraries
- Tight if you stay on Explorer: 10 browser hours and 5 sessions a month
- Watch out: Cloud plans are bring-your-own-proxy
- Watch out: the benchmark numbers are the vendor's own, from one test setup
Why Lightpanda gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyOpen source to run yourself, and Lightpanda Cloud has a $0 Explorer plan. Builder is $19 a month, under this category's $19.99 dearer quarter.
- AFree plan and trialRun it locally at no charge, or use Cloud's Explorer plan with 10 browser hours and 5 concurrent sessions a month.
- DFeaturesOne narrow function: a headless engine with CDP support, and you need Puppeteer, Playwright or similar to drive it.
- DEase of useNo rating on record. It has no graphical interface and is driven by code and the command line.
- CPlatforms and integrationsLinux and macOS, with Windows through WSL, and works with Puppeteer, Playwright, Chromedp, Selenium and Stagehand. No phone.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Lightpanda's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Lightpanda? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/lightpanda#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/lightpanda.svg" alt="Lightpanda: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Lightpanda stands among browsers
Lightpanda's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 17 of the 60 other browsers we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 22 of 60) and worst on features (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $9.50 for the category: 14 of the 19 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.3 out of 4. 48 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 61 browsers we grade, cut by the letter each got. Lightpanda’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 22 of 60, level with 38
- AFree plan and trialAbove 21 of 60, level with 39
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 60, level with 1
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 60, level with 4
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 4 of 60, level with 34
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 54 browsers. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Lightpanda, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Lightpanda you would be making a web browser. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 41 of the 60 other browsers grade higher. It costs $228 a year. Lightpanda is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could not
- A web browser.
- Connections to other products, each kept working as those products change.
- A real app for macOS and Linux. Something home-made would be a web page.
What this rests on. Lightpanda’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Lightpanda?
Lightpanda is a headless browser engine written in Zig for crawling, automation and AI agents. It runs JavaScript but does no graphical rendering. You can run it locally under an open-source license or use the hosted Lightpanda Cloud, which is priced in browser hours.
Worth knowing
- It has no graphical interface: it is a headless engine, not a browser for everyday browsing.
- The vendor's site lists Linux, macOS and Windows through WSL as operating systems.
- Cloud plans bring your own proxy.
- The vendor's benchmark numbers are its own, run on one test setup.
Key features
- Built for machines
- A browser engine built from scratch for headless use, running JavaScript without rendering graphics.
- CDP support
- Works with Puppeteer, Playwright and Chromedp through the Chrome DevTools Protocol; the docs also cover WebDriver and Selenium.
- Agent tooling
- The docs list an MCP server, an agent mode with PandaScript, and a Python SDK.
- Local or cloud
- Install it locally with a one-line script, Docker or a package manager, or run sessions on Lightpanda Cloud.
- Speed and memory claims
- The vendor's benchmark, run against chromedp on 933 pages, shows 5 seconds against 46 and 123 MB against 2 GB peak memory.
Lightpanda pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Lightpanda has a free plan, and paid plans start at $19 per month for 300 browser hours.
- Starts at
- $19 per month for 300 browser hours
- Free plan
- Explorer: 10 browser hours a month and 5 concurrent sessions on Lightpanda Cloud.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Explorer | $0per month for 10 browser hours | 5 concurrent sessions, community support on Discord, bring your own proxy. |
| Builder | $19per month for 300 browser hours | 30 concurrent sessions, email and Slack support, bring your own proxy. Hours beyond 300 cost $0.08 each. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom volume pricing, dedicated support, SLA and uptime guarantees, and on-premise or private cloud options. |
Read from lightpanda.io on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Lightpanda before you buy.
Works with
- Puppeteer
- Playwright
- Chromedp
- Selenium
- Stagehand
Lightpanda alternatives
- Lightpanda vs Hyperbeam
Free plan
- Lightpanda vs Kasm Workspaces
Free plan
Common questions
Does Lightpanda have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Lightpanda is listed for Linux and macOS.
Does Lightpanda have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Lightpanda is listed for Linux and macOS.
Is Lightpanda open source?
Yes. Lightpanda is open source, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.