head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs NanoClaw
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars, 81,978 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NanoClaw has 30,794 stars, 12,831 forks, 1,102 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 1,166% (389,982 vs 30,794 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; NanoClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, NanoClaw 42%. OpenClaw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (openclaw), 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 | NanoClaw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 31K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 13K |
| 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 NanoClaw if
- You want the NanoClaw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and NanoClaw 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 NanoClaw
NanoClaw is a personal AI agent framework that runs lightweight, containerized agents for messaging platforms. It lives in the open source AI agent ecosystem and serves as a security hardened, minimal alternative to OpenClaw. The project prioritizes transparency and control by limiting its codebase to a single process and a handful of files, avoiding the complexity and shared memory risks of larger frameworks.
read the full NanoClaw overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or NanoClaw more popular?
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars and NanoClaw has 30,794. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and NanoClaw free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and NanoClaw is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and NanoClaw?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and NanoClaw 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 NanoClaw?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (389,982 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose NanoClaw if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.