head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs vellum-assistant
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vellum-assistant has 1,470 stars, 229 forks, 179 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 26,686% (393,747 vs 1,470 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; vellum-assistant is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, vellum-assistant 16%. 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 | vellum-assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 229 |
| 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 vellum-assistant if
- You want the vellum-assistant feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and vellum-assistant 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 vellum-assistant
A personal AI assistant that evolves with you. 8 different types of memory (episodic, semantic, procedural, emotional, prospective, behavioral, narrative, shared) make it truly yours. It learns how you work, remembers what matters, and takes action across your apps. What It Does If you've set up a Personal AI on OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, or Claude Code, you know how long it takes, and how many times you have to hatch a new one to get it right. Vellum gets you the result you're looking for out of the box, one download away. Get Started 1. Sign up or download the app The desktop app is available for macOS and…
read the full vellum-assistant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or vellum-assistant more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and vellum-assistant has 1,470. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and vellum-assistant free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and vellum-assistant under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and vellum-assistant?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and vellum-assistant 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 vellum-assistant?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose vellum-assistant if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.