head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs hope-agent
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars, 81,995 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped today. hope-agent has 1,604 stars, 153 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped today. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 24,216% (390,029 vs 1,604 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; hope-agent is written in Rust under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, hope-agent 10%. 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| OpenClaw | hope-agent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 153 |
| 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 hope-agent if
- You want the hope-agent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and hope-agent 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 hope-agent
Hope Agent 跨端交接、越用越懂你的桌面 AI 助手，也能服务化常驻、跑在云上 会记忆 · 能成长 · 能自主推进目标 · 会动态编排任务 · 在你所有的聊天里随叫随到 简体中文 · English 在一个入口中组织项目、目标、工作流与长期任务 Hope Agent 是一个本地优先、桌面优先，也能服务化常驻的个人 AI Agent。它像成熟的桌面软件一样打开即用，又真正具备 Agent 的行动力：理解长期上下文、调用工具完成工作，并在你离开后继续可靠地推进目标。 Hope Agent 很早就开始探索桌面 AI Agent。 在桌面 Agent 还很少见、Codex 尚处早期形态的阶段，我们就已经开始构建这个项目。我们一直专注于产品本身，而不是制造声量。随着桌面 AI Agent 逐渐成为热门方向，越来越多产品开始探索相似路径，也印证了我们最初的判断： AI 助手终将走出聊天框，成为可以长期托付工作的个人软件。 目录 核心能力 能力全景 快速开始 下载安装 自托管（Docker） 开发者 运行模式 生态一览 项目结构 文档 贡献 社区 致谢 Star History License 核心能力 🖥️ 开箱即用的桌面 Agent 原生 GUI、丰富的 Provider 模板与预设模型，并支持本地模型一键安装。填入 API Key 或登录账号即可开始，不要求先搭环境、学命令行或维护复杂配置。 🧭 持续完成，而不只回答…
read the full hope-agent overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Interaction & Interfaces projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Interaction & Interfaces field.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or hope-agent more popular?
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars and hope-agent has 1,604. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and hope-agent free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and hope-agent is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and hope-agent?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and hope-agent in Rust. 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 hope-agent?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (390,029 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose hope-agent if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.