head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs eliza
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. eliza has 19,354 stars, 5,739 forks, 1,069 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 1,174% (246,492 vs 19,354 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; eliza is written in TypeScript under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, eliza 30%. eliza was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | eliza | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 19K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 5.7K |
| 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 eliza if
- You want the eliza feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and eliza 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 eliza
elizaOS is an open source, MIT licensed TypeScript framework and product stack for autonomous AI agents, built for developers who want to run or extend their own agent runtime and for end users who want a personal agent app on web, desktop, and mobile.
read the full eliza overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or eliza more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and eliza has 19,354. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and eliza free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and eliza under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and eliza?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and eliza 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, Hermes Agent or eliza?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose eliza if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.