head to head · open source
Botpress vs Ethora
Botpress has 14,920 GitHub stars, 2,293 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ethora has 546 stars, 111 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Botpress leads on adoption by 2,633% (14,920 vs 546 stars). Botpress is written in TypeScript under MIT; Ethora is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Botpress has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Ethora 20%. Botpress 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
| Botpress | Ethora | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 546 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.3K | ⑂ 111 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Botpress if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Ethora if
- You want the Ethora feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Ethora fits your workflow better
About Botpress
Botpress is open source hub to build and deploy GPT/LLM agents. It lives in Botpress Cloud ecosystem. Project uses TypeScript, MIT license, npm packages @botpress/cli and @botpress/sdk. Repository contains public integrations, devtools, example bots as code, and plugins for Botpress Studio, marked coming soon.
read the full Botpress overview →
About Ethora
Ethora is an Apache 2.0 licensed chat, AI and messaging SDK monorepo that adds real time messaging, prebuilt chat UI, bots and backend services to web, iOS and Android applications, and it is aimed at product teams that would rather integrate a messaging layer than assemble one.
read the full Ethora overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Botpress or Ethora more popular?
Botpress has 14,920 GitHub stars and Ethora has 546. Botpress has the larger community by that measure.
Are Botpress and Ethora free?
Both are open source. Botpress is licensed under MIT and Ethora under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Botpress and Ethora?
Botpress is written in TypeScript and Ethora in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Botpress or Ethora?
Choose Botpress if you want the larger community (14,920 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Ethora if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.