head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Zola
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars, 81,978 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zola has 1,531 stars, 295 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 25,372% (389,982 vs 1,531 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; 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 | ★ 390K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 295 |
| 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 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 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 Zola
Zola is an open source TypeScript chat interface for multiple AI model providers. It lives in the AI interaction and interface ecosystem and gives users one chat surface for OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, and local Ollama models. The project uses Apache 2.0 and is built with Next.js, prompt kit, shadcn/ui, Tailwind CSS, Vercel AI SDK, and Supabase.
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Zola more popular?
OpenClaw has 389,982 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,531. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Zola free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and Zola is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
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 (389,982 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.