---
title: "firecrawl vs lastbackend"
type: "comparison"
canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/firecrawl-firecrawl-vs-lastbackend-lastbackend"
tools: ["firecrawl-firecrawl", "lastbackend-lastbackend"]
---

# firecrawl vs lastbackend

*GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026*

## Verdict

Pick firecrawl when firecrawl is primarily TypeScript; lastbackend is Go; pick lastbackend when lastbackend is primarily Go; firecrawl is TypeScript.

[firecrawl](https://firecrawl.dev) reports 149k GitHub stars, 8.5k forks, and 395 open issues, last pushed Jul 11, 2026. [lastbackend](https://lastbackend.com) has 1.7k stars, 113 forks, and 9 open issues, last pushed Jul 19, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [firecrawl's repository](https://github.com/firecrawl/firecrawl) and [lastbackend's repository](https://github.com/lastbackend/lastbackend).

| | [firecrawl](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl.md) | [lastbackend](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | The API to search, scrape, and interact with the web at scale. 🔥 | System for containerized apps management. From build to scaling. |
| Stars | 149,109 | 1,656 |
| Forks | 8,524 | 113 |
| Open issues | 395 | 9 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Adopt for | FireCrawl is an API-driven toolkit built for conducting scalable searches, scraping tasks, and interactive operations with the web using AI agents. | - |
| Persona | - | - |
| Runtime | - | - |
| License | AGPL-3.0 license requires that any changes to FireCrawl's source code also be made available as free software when the adapted version is used. | Apache-2.0 |
| Categories | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval |

## Trust and health

_Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._

| | [firecrawl](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl.md) | [lastbackend](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend.md) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) |
| Days since push | 0d | 1092d |
| Open issues (now) | 395 | 9 |
| Full report | [trust report](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend/trust.md) |

## Decision facts: firecrawl

- **Hosting:** self hosted - FireCrawl can be deployed on your infrastructure, giving you complete control over where and how the API interacts with web data.
- **Requirements:** Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker
- **Adopt for:** FireCrawl is an API-driven toolkit built for conducting scalable searches, scraping tasks, and interactive operations with the web using AI agents.
- **License detail:** AGPL-3.0 license requires that any changes to FireCrawl's source code also be made available as free software when the adapted version is used.

## Choose when

### Choose firecrawl if…

- firecrawl is primarily TypeScript; lastbackend is Go.
- License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, lastbackend is Apache-2.0.
- FireCrawl can be deployed on your infrastructure, giving you complete control over where and how the API interacts with web data.
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker.
- Tags unique to firecrawl: ai-agents, crawler, scraping, search.
- When you need to automate complex web interactions that require understanding context or content from multiple sources, leveraging its AI agent capabilities.

### Choose lastbackend if…

- lastbackend is primarily Go; firecrawl is TypeScript.
- License: lastbackend is Apache-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0.
- Tags unique to lastbackend: backend, cd, ci, cloud.

## When NOT to use firecrawl

- For lightweight scraping tasks where minimal data extraction is sufficient and speed is of utmost importance without the need for advanced AI analysis.
- If you require open-source components under a license other than AGPL-3.0, as this license may impose certain restrictions on derivative works.

## When NOT to use lastbackend

- Last GitHub push was 1092 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jul 19, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on lastbackend.
- AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism.
- Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough.

## Common questions

### What is the difference between firecrawl and lastbackend?

firecrawl: The API to search, scrape, and interact with the web at scale. 🔥. lastbackend: System for containerized apps management. From build to scaling.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.

### When should I choose firecrawl over lastbackend?

Choose firecrawl over lastbackend when firecrawl is primarily TypeScript; lastbackend is Go; License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, lastbackend is Apache-2.0; FireCrawl can be deployed on your infrastructure, giving you complete control over where and how the API interacts with web data; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Tags unique to firecrawl: ai-agents, crawler, scraping, search; When you need to automate complex web interactions that require understanding context or content from multiple sources, leveraging its AI agent capabilities.

### When should I choose lastbackend over firecrawl?

Choose lastbackend over firecrawl when lastbackend is primarily Go; firecrawl is TypeScript; License: lastbackend is Apache-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0; Tags unique to lastbackend: backend, cd, ci, cloud.

### When should I avoid firecrawl?

For lightweight scraping tasks where minimal data extraction is sufficient and speed is of utmost importance without the need for advanced AI analysis. If you require open-source components under a license other than AGPL-3.0, as this license may impose certain restrictions on derivative works.

### When should I avoid lastbackend?

Last GitHub push was 1092 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jul 19, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on lastbackend. AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism. Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough.

### Is firecrawl or lastbackend more popular on GitHub?

firecrawl has more GitHub stars (149,109 vs 1,656). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.

### Are firecrawl and lastbackend open source?

Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (firecrawl: AGPL-3.0, lastbackend: Apache-2.0).

### Where can I find alternatives to firecrawl or lastbackend?

GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [firecrawl alternatives](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl/alternatives) and [lastbackend alternatives](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend/alternatives) ([firecrawl markdown twin](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl/alternatives.md), [lastbackend markdown twin](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.

### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?

Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/firecrawl-firecrawl-vs-lastbackend-lastbackend.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.

### Which is better maintained, firecrawl or lastbackend?

firecrawl: Very active. lastbackend: Dormant. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.

### Where are the full trust reports for firecrawl and lastbackend?

GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [firecrawl trust report](/tools/firecrawl-firecrawl/trust); [lastbackend trust report](/tools/lastbackend-lastbackend/trust).

---

**Machine-readable endpoints**

- JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=firecrawl-firecrawl`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=firecrawl-firecrawl)
- LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt)
- Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt)

_GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_
