head to head · open source
langchain vs apm
langchain has 146,562 GitHub stars, 24,508 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped today. apm has 3,838 stars, 361 forks, 215 open issues and last shipped today. langchain leads on adoption by 3,719% (146,562 vs 3,838 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; apm is written in Python under MIT. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, apm 9%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai-agents), 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
| langchain | apm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 147K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 361 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick langchain if
- You weight community size — 147K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick apm if
- You want the apm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and apm fits your workflow better
About langchain
LangChain is an open source framework for building agents and LLM powered applications, written in Python and released under the MIT license. It lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically among AI development platforms, and it works by chaining together interoperable components and third party integrations so that AI application development becomes simpler. The project describes itself as the agent engineering platform, and its abstractions are designed to keep applications working as the underlying technology evolves.
read the full langchain overview →
About apm
APM – Agent Package Manager An open source, community driven dependency manager for AI agents. Think package.json , requirements.txt , or Cargo.toml — but for AI agent configuration. GitHub Copilot Claude Code Grok Build Cursor OpenCode Codex Gemini Windsurf Kiro Documentation · Quick Start · CLI Reference · Roadmap Portable by manifest. Secure by default. Governed by policy. One file describes every agent's context; one command reproduces it everywhere; one policy controls what an org will allow. Why APM AI coding agents need context to be useful — standards, prompts, skills, plugins — but today every developer …
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or apm more popular?
langchain has 146,562 GitHub stars and apm has 3,838. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and apm free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and apm under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and apm?
langchain is written in Python and apm 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, langchain or apm?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (146,562 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose apm if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.