head to head · open source
AstrBot vs builderbot
AstrBot has 40,717 GitHub stars, 2,941 forks, 1,516 open issues and last shipped today. builderbot has 2,969 stars, 951 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. AstrBot leads on adoption by 1,271% (40,717 vs 2,969 stars). AstrBot is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; builderbot is written in TypeScript under MIT. AstrBot has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, builderbot 32%. AstrBot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (chatbot, chatgpt, docker), 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 | builderbot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 3.0K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 951 |
| 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 builderbot if
- You want the builderbot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and builderbot 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 builderbot
BuilderBot is an MIT licensed TypeScript library for building automated WhatsApp conversation flows that stay agnostic to the underlying WhatsApp provider, aimed at developers and teams that want to script their own chatbot logic instead of renting a hosted conversational platform.
read the full builderbot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AstrBot or builderbot more popular?
AstrBot has 40,717 GitHub stars and builderbot has 2,969. AstrBot has the larger community by that measure.
Are AstrBot and builderbot free?
Both are open source. AstrBot is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and builderbot under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AstrBot and builderbot?
AstrBot is written in Python and builderbot in TypeScript. 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 builderbot?
Choose AstrBot if you want the larger community (40,717 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose builderbot if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.