head to head · open source
Reflex vs mantis
Reflex has 28,891 GitHub stars, 1,778 forks, 346 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mantis has 1,574 stars, 154 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Reflex leads on adoption by 1,736% (28,891 vs 1,574 stars). Reflex is written in Python under Apache-2.0; mantis is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Reflex has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, mantis 10%. Reflex 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
| Reflex | mantis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 154 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Reflex if
- You weight community size — 29K 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 mantis if
- You want the mantis feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mantis fits your workflow better
About Reflex
Reflex is an open source Apache 2.0 Python library for building full stack web apps and internal tools entirely in Python, aimed at Python developers who want a browser based frontend without learning JavaScript.
read the full Reflex overview →
About mantis
Mantis is a modular, stack agnostic toolkit of security review skills for AI coding agents, and it includes an ADK reference harness for building secure software. It lives in the developer tools, AI coding agent, and application security ecosystem, with topics such as code review, DevSecOps, multi agent systems, and hardware security. The project helps agents autonomously find, reproduce, and patch vulnerabilities while giving humans a structured way to review results.
read the full mantis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Reflex or mantis more popular?
Reflex has 28,891 GitHub stars and mantis has 1,574. Reflex has the larger community by that measure.
Are Reflex and mantis free?
Both are open source. Reflex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mantis under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Reflex and mantis?
Reflex is written in Python and mantis 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, Reflex or mantis?
Choose Reflex if you want the larger community (28,891 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mantis if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.