head to head · open source
langchain vs opik
langchain has 146,538 GitHub stars, 24,504 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opik has 22,098 stars, 1,801 forks, 258 open issues and last shipped yesterday. langchain leads on adoption by 563% (146,538 vs 22,098 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; opik is written in Python under Apache-2.0. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, opik 8%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (langchain), 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 | opik | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 147K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| 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 opik if
- You want the opik 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 opik 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 opik
Opik is open source LLM observability, evaluation, and AI agent tracing platform for teams building LLM apps, RAG systems, and agentic workflows, built by Comet, Apache 2.0 licensed, free to self host full platform.
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or opik more popular?
langchain has 146,538 GitHub stars and opik has 22,098. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and opik free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and opik under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and opik?
langchain is written in Python and opik 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 opik?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (146,538 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose opik if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.