head to head · open source
langchain vs qwen-code
langchain has 148,892 GitHub stars, 25,031 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. qwen-code has 28,894 stars, 3,298 forks, 1,422 open issues and last shipped yesterday. langchain leads on adoption by 415% (148,892 vs 28,894 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; qwen-code is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, qwen-code 11%. 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 | qwen-code | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 149K | ★ 29K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 3.3K |
| 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 qwen-code if
- You want the qwen-code feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and qwen-code 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 qwen-code
The open source AI coding agent for your terminal, editor, desktop, browser, and chat. 中文 Deutsch français 日本語 Русский Português (Brasil) 한국어 Why Qwen Code? Agentic out of the box — Auto Memory, Auto Skills, SubAgents, Agent Teams, and MCP. Dynamic workflows, zero setup. Open source, inside and out — The framework and the Qwen models are open source. They evolve together. No vendor lock in. Multi protocol — Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Qwen APIs. Any third party provider or local model (Ollama / vLLM). Switch at runtime. Beyond the terminal — IDE plugins, Desktop app, Web UI, SDKs, and chat…
read the full qwen-code overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or qwen-code more popular?
langchain has 148,892 GitHub stars and qwen-code has 28,894. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and qwen-code free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and qwen-code under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and qwen-code?
langchain is written in Python and qwen-code in TypeScript. 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 qwen-code?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (148,892 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose qwen-code if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.