head to head · open source
langchain vs cua
langchain has 148,892 GitHub stars, 25,031 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cua has 31,590 stars, 2,340 forks, 926 open issues and last shipped yesterday. langchain leads on adoption by 371% (148,892 vs 31,590 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; cua is written in Rust under MIT. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, cua 7%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | cua | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 149K | ★ 32K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick langchain if
- You weight community size — 149K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cua if
- You want the cua feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cua fits your workflow better
About langchain
The agent engineering platform. LangChain is a framework for building agents and LLM powered applications. It helps you chain together interoperable components and third party integrations to simplify AI application development — all while future proofing decisions as the underlying technology evolves. [!TIP] Just getting started? Check out Deep Agents — a higher level package built on LangChain for agents that have built in capabilities for common usage patterns such as planning, subagents, file system usage, and more. Quickstart If you're looking for more advanced customization or agent orchestration, check…
read the full langchain overview →
About cua
Give AI agents computers they can use. Cua provides open source desktop automation, isolated cloud desktops, local macOS VMs, and benchmarks for evaluating computer use agents. Try Cua Fleets now at run.cua.ai Choose your path Cua Fleets: Provision a Linux desktop, run a command, and save a screenshot. Cua Driver: Operate Calculator and verify its result. Lume: Create a Tahoe VM and connect over SSH. Cua Bench: Create and verify a simulated task. You bring the agent and model. Cua provides the computer and automation tools. Computer Use 2.0 describes an agent moving between code, APIs, and graphical interfaces…
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or cua more popular?
langchain has 148,892 GitHub stars and cua has 31,590. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and cua free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and cua under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and cua?
langchain is written in Python and cua in Rust. 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 cua?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (148,892 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cua if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.