head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Orkas
OpenClaw has 393,664 GitHub stars, 82,735 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Orkas has 7,669 stars, 474 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 5,033% (393,664 vs 7,669 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Orkas is written in JavaScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Orkas 6%. OpenClaw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Orkas | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 7.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 474 |
| 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 Orkas if
- You want the Orkas feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Orkas 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 Orkas
Orkas Command a team of AI agents from one desktop chat — not one chatbot. Orkas is an open source, local first multi agent desktop app. Describe a goal; its Commander plans the work, handles the general parts itself, and coordinates specialist agents in parallel or in sequence. Nine specialist agents ship with the app , ready the moment you launch it, out of 30 in the marketplace. Bring your own model keys — Claude · OpenAI · Gemini · DeepSeek · Kimi · GLM · Qwen · MiniMax · Doubao. macOS · Windows · Linux. English · 简体中文 You: "Research the top 5 competitors, write it up, and turn it into a deck." Orkas: the…
read the full Orkas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Orkas more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,664 GitHub stars and Orkas has 7,669. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Orkas free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and Orkas under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and Orkas?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and Orkas in JavaScript. 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 Orkas?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,664 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Orkas if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.