head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs LobeChat
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars, 81,978 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LobeChat has 82,547 stars, 15,891 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 372% (389,982 vs 82,547 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, LobeChat 19%. 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 | LobeChat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 83K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 16K |
| 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 LobeChat if
- You want the LobeChat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and LobeChat 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 LobeChat
LobeHub is an open source platform for managing, building, and operating AI agent teams. It functions as a Chief Agent Operator (CAO), enabling users to organize, schedule, and monitor autonomous AI agents around the clock. The project lives in the AI interaction and interfaces ecosystem, integrating with major LLM providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Alibaba’s GLM series.
read the full LobeChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or LobeChat more popular?
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars and LobeChat has 82,547. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and LobeChat free?
Neither OpenClaw nor LobeChat declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and LobeChat?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and LobeChat 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 LobeChat?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (389,982 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose LobeChat if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.