head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs AstrBot
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AstrBot has 40,628 stars, 2,925 forks, 1,516 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 507% (246,492 vs 40,628 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; AstrBot is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, AstrBot 7%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai, chatgpt, llm), 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
| Hermes Agent | AstrBot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 41K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 246K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick AstrBot if
- You want the AstrBot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and AstrBot fits your workflow better
About Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is a desktop AI agent developed by Nous Research that maintains persistent memory and self improving capabilities across sessions and platforms. It operates as a local first, cross platform interface for LLMs, integrating with multiple model providers and deployment environments without vendor lock in. The agent implements a closed learning loop where it curates its own memory, creates and refines skills from experience, and supports cross session recall via full text search and summarization.
read the full Hermes Agent overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or AstrBot more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and AstrBot has 40,628. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and AstrBot free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and AstrBot under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and AstrBot?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and AstrBot in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Hermes Agent or AstrBot?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose AstrBot if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.