head to head · open source
ralph vs Open Mercato
ralph has 2,516 GitHub stars, 593 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Open Mercato has 1,748 stars, 413 forks, 1,119 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ralph leads on adoption by 44% (2,516 vs 1,748 stars). ralph is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Open Mercato is written in TypeScript under MIT. ralph has attracted 24% as many forks as stars, Open Mercato 24%. Open Mercato 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
| ralph | Open Mercato | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.5K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-10 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 593 | ⑂ 413 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ralph if
- You weight community size — 2.5K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Open Mercato if
- You want the Open Mercato feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Open Mercato fits your workflow better
About ralph
Ralph is an open source asset management, DCIM, and CMDB system written in Python and built with Django. It is intended for organizations that need to manage data center hardware and back office hardware in one place under the Apache 2.0 license. The project lives in the business software and operations ecosystem.
read the full ralph overview →
About Open Mercato
Open Mercato is open source TypeScript foundation for CRM, ERP, commerce apps. It lives in Next.js ecosystem under MIT license. Project is AI engineering framework, not finished business suite. It supplies architecture, conventions, specs, domain modules, agent facing skills. Coding assistants can place and extend code consistently. It targets teams using Cursor, Claude Code, Codex.
read the full Open Mercato overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ralph or Open Mercato more popular?
ralph has 2,516 GitHub stars and Open Mercato has 1,748. ralph has the larger community by that measure.
Are ralph and Open Mercato free?
Both are open source. ralph is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Open Mercato under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ralph and Open Mercato?
ralph is written in Python and Open Mercato 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, ralph or Open Mercato?
Choose ralph if you want the larger community (2,516 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Open Mercato if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.