head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs poco-claw
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars, 81,995 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. poco-claw has 1,352 stars, 127 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 28,748% (390,029 vs 1,352 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; poco-claw is written in Python under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, poco-claw 9%. OpenClaw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, 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 | poco-claw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 127 |
| 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 poco-claw if
- You want the poco-claw feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and poco-claw 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 poco-claw
Poco is an MIT licensed, self hostable AI agent workspace written in Python that wraps a Claude Code–based agent in a channel based web interface, built for developers and teams who want an OpenClaw style coworker running on infrastructure they control.
read the full poco-claw overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or poco-claw more popular?
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars and poco-claw has 1,352. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and poco-claw free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and poco-claw is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and poco-claw?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and poco-claw in Python. 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 poco-claw?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (390,029 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose poco-claw if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.