head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs assistant-ui
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars, 81,978 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. assistant-ui has 12,192 stars, 1,183 forks, 207 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 3,099% (389,982 vs 12,192 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; assistant-ui is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, assistant-ui 10%. OpenClaw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | assistant-ui | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 12K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenClaw if
- You weight community size — 390K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick assistant-ui if
- You want the assistant-ui feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and assistant-ui fits your workflow better
About OpenClaw
OpenClaw is an open source, self hosted AI assistant in the AI & Machine Learning / AI Interaction & Interfaces category that runs on hardware the user controls and meets them inside the messaging channels they already use, for individuals who want a personal assistant on a laptop and teams that want a shared deployment.
read the full OpenClaw overview →
About assistant-ui
assistant ui is an open source TypeScript and React library, released under the MIT licence, for building production grade AI chat experiences quickly, and it is aimed at frontend and full stack developers who need the user experience of ChatGPT inside their own React application.
read the full assistant-ui overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or assistant-ui more popular?
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars and assistant-ui has 12,192. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and assistant-ui free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and assistant-ui is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and assistant-ui?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and assistant-ui 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 assistant-ui?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (389,982 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose assistant-ui if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.