head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs eliza
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars, 81,978 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. eliza has 19,354 stars, 5,739 forks, 1,069 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 1,915% (389,982 vs 19,354 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; eliza is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, eliza 30%. 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 | eliza | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 19K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 5.7K |
| 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 eliza if
- You want the eliza feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and eliza 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 eliza
elizaOS is an open source, MIT licensed TypeScript framework and product stack for autonomous AI agents, built for developers who want to run or extend their own agent runtime and for end users who want a personal agent app on web, desktop, and mobile.
read the full eliza overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or eliza more popular?
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars and eliza has 19,354. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and eliza free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and eliza is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and eliza?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and eliza 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 eliza?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (389,982 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose eliza if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.