head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Zola
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zola has 1,538 stars, 297 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 25,501% (393,747 vs 1,538 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Zola is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Zola 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 | Zola | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 297 |
| 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 Zola if
- You want the Zola feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Zola 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 Zola
Zola zola.chat Zola is the open source chat interface for all your models. Features Multi model support: OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, Ollama (local models) Bring your own API key (BYOK) support via OpenRouter File uploads Clean, responsive UI with light/dark themes Built with Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, and prompt kit Open source and self hostable Customizable: user system prompt, multiple layout options Local AI with Ollama: Run models locally with automatic model detection Full MCP support (wip) Quick Start Option 1: With OpenAI (Cloud) Option 2: With Ollama (Local) Zola will automatically detect your local…
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Zola more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,538. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Zola free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and Zola under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and Zola?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and Zola 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 Zola?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.