head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Dify
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Dify has 160,251 stars, 25,336 forks, 1,067 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 146% (393,747 vs 160,251 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Dify is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Dify 16%. 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 | Dify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 160K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 25K |
| 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 Dify if
- You want the Dify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Dify 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 Dify
Dify Cloud · Self hosting · Documentation · Dify edition overview Dify is an open source LLM app development platform. Its intuitive interface combines AI workflow, RAG pipeline, agent capabilities, model management, observability features (including Opik, Langfuse, and Arize Phoenix) and more, letting you quickly go from prototype to production. Here's a list of the core features: Quick start Before installing Dify, make sure your machine meets the following minimum system requirements: CPU = 2 Core RAM = 4 GiB The easiest way to start the Dify server is through Docker Compose. Before running Dify with the…
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Dify more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and Dify has 160,251. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Dify free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT, and Dify has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and Dify?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and Dify 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, OpenClaw or Dify?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Dify if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.