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Lighthouse vs Locust: open-source performance and load testing tools compared

Metrics as of , from the GitHub or GitLab API of each repository. Refreshed monthly.

Summary

Lighthouse: Web page auditing tool for performance, accessibility and SEO, run from Chrome DevTools, a Node CLI or module.

Locust: Load testing tool for HTTP and other protocols with scenarios written in Python and a web UI.

Both are listed under Performance and load testing. The table gives repository metrics from the GitHub API with their fetch date, then the documented facts used for every comparison in this category, each linked to the README or docs page it comes from. A cell reads "not documented" when the fact was not found in the project's documentation (2 of 12 fact cells here); that does not mean the feature is absent.

Side by side

Lighthouse and Locust: metrics and documented facts, in the fixed row order used for performance and load testing comparisons.
FactLighthouseLocust
Stars30,799128,1771
Forks9,76013,2461
Contributors39014041
Last release2026-09-1812026-09-171
Last commit2026-09-1812026-09-211
Commits in 90 days5711601
LicenseApache-2.01MIT1
Primary languageJavaScript1Python1
Statusactive1active1
Protocolsnot documentednot found in the project's documentation as of HTTP; other protocols and systems through user-written clients source: README
Test authoring formatConfig file via --config-path; custom audits and gatherers written as extensions source: READMECode (Python locustfiles) source: README
Distributed or parallel loadnot documentednot found in the project's documentation as of Distributed runs with one --master process and one or more --worker processes, on one or several machines source: Docs: Distributed load generation
CI integrationLighthouse CI, listed as the official project for running Lighthouse on every commit source: READMEHeadless mode in CI/CD pipelines, with a GitHub Actions example source: Docs: Running without the web UI
Report formatsJSON, HTML, CSV (HTML by default) source: READMECSV stats files (--csv), HTML report (--html), JSON stats (--json) source: Docs: Configuration
Install methodnpm (npm install -g lighthouse) or yarn; also a Chrome DevTools panel source: READMEpip (pip install locust) source: Docs: Installation

1 Fetched from the GitHub or GitLab API on . Hover a value for its own date.

When each fits

Written from each project's documented scope, not from preference. Neither tool is ranked.

Lighthouse

Fits projects that analyze web apps and web pages; its README describes audit categories for accessibility, performance and SEO, among others. source: README

Locust

Fits projects that load test HTTP services and other protocols; its README describes tests defined in regular Python code. source: README

More on these tools

Sources

  1. GitHub REST API: repository, read
  2. GitHub REST API: repository, read
  3. GitHub REST API: contributors, read
  4. GitHub REST API: contributors, read
  5. GitHub REST API: latest release, read
  6. GitHub REST API: latest release, read
  7. GitHub REST API: commits, read
  8. GitHub REST API: commits, read
  9. README, read
  10. README, read
  11. Docs: Distributed load generation, read
  12. Docs: Running without the web UI, read
  13. Docs: Configuration, read
  14. Docs: Installation, read

Documented facts collected 2026-09-22. See the methodology for how metrics and facts are gathered.