head to head · open source
langchain vs ii-agent
langchain has 146,562 GitHub stars, 24,508 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ii-agent has 3,387 stars, 524 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. langchain leads on adoption by 4,227% (146,562 vs 3,387 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; ii-agent is written in Python under Apache-2.0. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, ii-agent 15%. 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), 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 | ii-agent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 147K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 524 |
| 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 ii-agent if
- You want the ii-agent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ii-agent 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 ii-agent
II Agent is an Apache 2.0 open source Python framework for building, running, forking, and extending intelligent agents, aimed at solo developers, research teams, and enterprises that want full control over models and cost through bring your own key (BYOK) configuration.
read the full ii-agent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or ii-agent more popular?
langchain has 146,562 GitHub stars and ii-agent has 3,387. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and ii-agent free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and ii-agent under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and ii-agent?
langchain is written in Python and ii-agent 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 ii-agent?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (146,562 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ii-agent if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.