head to head · open source
nanobot vs row-bot
nanobot has 48,372 GitHub stars, 8,548 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped today. row-bot has 1,503 stars, 172 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nanobot leads on adoption by 3,118% (48,372 vs 1,503 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; row-bot is written in Python under Apache-2.0. nanobot has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, row-bot 11%. nanobot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (local-llm), 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
| nanobot | row-bot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.5K | ⑂ 172 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick row-bot if
- You want the row-bot 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 row-bot fits your workflow better
About nanobot
nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python, aimed at individual developers and small teams who want to run their own agent through a browser WebUI, a terminal, or chat apps instead of renting a hosted assistant.
read the full nanobot overview →
About row-bot
Row Bot is a local first, Apache 2.0 desktop AI assistant written in Python: it reasons through messy context, orchestrates tools and model providers, and works inside the files, repositories, workflows, and channels a user chooses.
read the full row-bot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or row-bot more popular?
nanobot has 48,372 GitHub stars and row-bot has 1,503. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and row-bot free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT and row-bot under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobot and row-bot?
nanobot is written in Python and row-bot 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, nanobot or row-bot?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (48,372 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose row-bot if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.