head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs LobeChat
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LobeChat has 83,716 stars, 16,033 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 370% (393,747 vs 83,716 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, LobeChat 19%. OpenClaw 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
| OpenClaw | LobeChat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 84K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 16K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenClaw if
- You weight community size — 394K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LobeChat if
- You want the LobeChat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and LobeChat fits your workflow better
About OpenClaw
OpenClaw 🦞 — Your assistant, on your devices, in your chats OpenClaw is an open source AI assistant that runs on your own computer and meets you in the channels you already use: Discord, iMessage, Slack, Teams, Telegram, WhatsApp, and 20+ more, plus native apps for macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux. One Gateway runs it as a personal assistant on a laptop or as a shared team deployment; configuration is the only difference. Yours, with no catch. State, memory, and credentials live on your hardware. Models and agent harnesses (Claude, Codex, local models) are plugins you can swap without changing anything…
read the full OpenClaw overview →
About LobeChat
[![][image banner]][vercel link] LobeHub LobeHub organizes your agents into 7×24 operation. It hires, schedules, reports on your entire AI team. You stay in charge — without staying online. English · 简体中文 · [Official Site][official site] · [Changelog][changelog] · [Documents][docs] · [Blog][blog] · [Feedback][github issues link] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][docker release shield]][docker release link] [![][vercel shield]][vercel link] [![][discord shield]][discord link] [![][codecov shield]][codecov link] [![][github action test shield]][github action test link] [![][github action…
read the full LobeChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or LobeChat more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and LobeChat has 83,716. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and LobeChat free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT, and LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and LobeChat?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and LobeChat 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, OpenClaw or LobeChat?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LobeChat if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.