head to head · open source
AstrBot vs BotFramework-WebChat
AstrBot has 40,717 GitHub stars, 2,941 forks, 1,516 open issues and last shipped today. BotFramework-WebChat has 1,784 stars, 1,601 forks, 523 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. AstrBot leads on adoption by 2,182% (40,717 vs 1,784 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%. AstrBot 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 | ★ 41K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AstrBot if
- You weight community size — 41K 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
AstrBot is an open source all in one Agent chatbot platform written in Python and licensed under AGPL 3.0. It integrates with mainstream instant messaging applications and provides conversational AI infrastructure for individuals, developers, and teams. The project lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically the AI interaction and interfaces category, and it has been developed over roughly four years. Its repository carries 40,504 stars and 2,915 forks, and its documented homepage is astrbot.app. Topics attached to the project include agent, ai, chatbot, chatgpt, discord, docker, gemini, gpt, lla…
read the full AstrBot overview →
About BotFramework-WebChat
Bot Framework Web Chat is an MIT licensed, highly customizable web based chat client, published on npm as botframework webchat , that lets web developers embed a conversational interface into their own sites and connect it to bots built with the Microsoft Bot Framework v4 SDK.
read the full BotFramework-WebChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AstrBot or BotFramework-WebChat more popular?
AstrBot has 40,717 GitHub stars and BotFramework-WebChat has 1,784. 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 (40,717 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.