head to head · open source
AstrBot vs BotFramework-WebChat
AstrBot has 45,879 GitHub stars, 3,368 forks, 1,516 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. BotFramework-WebChat has 1,787 stars, 1,600 forks, 523 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AstrBot leads on adoption by 2,467% (45,879 vs 1,787 stars). AstrBot is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; BotFramework-WebChat is written in HTML under MIT. AstrBot has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, BotFramework-WebChat 90%. BotFramework-WebChat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (chatbot), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| AstrBot | BotFramework-WebChat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AstrBot if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BotFramework-WebChat if
- You want the BotFramework-WebChat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and BotFramework-WebChat fits your workflow better
About AstrBot
简体中文 ｜ 繁體中文 ｜ 日本語 ｜ Français ｜ Español ｜ Русский Documentation ｜ Blog ｜ Roadmap ｜ Issue Tracker ｜ Email Support AstrBot is an open source all in one Agent chatbot platform that integrates with mainstream instant messaging apps. It provides reliable and scalable conversational AI infrastructure for individuals, developers, and teams. Whether you're building a personal AI companion, intelligent customer service, automation assistant, or enterprise knowledge base, AstrBot enables you to quickly build production ready AI applications within your IM platform workflows. Key Features 1. 💯 Free & Open Source. 2. ✨ AI…
read the full AstrBot overview →
About BotFramework-WebChat
Click here to find out what is new in Web Chat Bot Framework Web Chat This repository contains code for the Bot Framework Web Chat component. The Bot Framework Web Chat component is a highly customizable web based client for the Bot Framework v4 SDK. The Bot Framework SDK v4 enables developers to model conversation and build sophisticated bot applications. This repository is part of the Microsoft Bot Framework a comprehensive framework for building enterprise grade conversational AI experiences. Web Chat supports Content Security Policy (CSP). Web developers are recommended to enable CSP to improve security and…
read the full BotFramework-WebChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AstrBot or BotFramework-WebChat more popular?
AstrBot has 45,879 GitHub stars and BotFramework-WebChat has 1,787. AstrBot has the larger community by that measure.
Are AstrBot and BotFramework-WebChat free?
Both are open source. AstrBot is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and BotFramework-WebChat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AstrBot and BotFramework-WebChat?
AstrBot is written in Python and BotFramework-WebChat in HTML. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, AstrBot or BotFramework-WebChat?
Choose AstrBot if you want the larger community (45,879 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose BotFramework-WebChat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.