head to head · open source
serviette vs burr
serviette has 58,732 GitHub stars, 1,547 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped yesterday. burr has 2,589 stars, 215 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped yesterday. serviette leads on adoption by 2,169% (58,732 vs 2,589 stars). serviette is written in Python under MIT; burr is written in Python under Apache-2.0. serviette has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, burr 8%. serviette 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
| serviette | burr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 59K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 215 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick serviette if
- You weight community size — 59K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick burr if
- You want the burr 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 burr fits your workflow better
About serviette
serviette Looking for llm app templates? All templates, cookbooks and examples are still available in full in the Pathway repository under examples/llm app . A no code, always up to date RAG server for any vector database — built on the Pathway Live Data Framework. Point serviette at a folder of documents, pick a vector database and an embedder in one YAML file, and run two commands: you get a chat and a REST API that answer from those documents and cite their sources. From then on, any change to the documents — an edit, a new file, a deletion — is reflected in the answers within seconds. serviette runs on…
read the full serviette overview →
About burr
Apache Burr (incubating) Apache Burr (incubating) makes it easy to develop applications that make decisions (chatbots, agents, simulations, etc...) from simple python building blocks. Apache Burr works well for any application that uses LLMs, and can integrate with any of your favorite frameworks. Burr includes a UI that can track/monitor/trace your system in real time, along with pluggable persisters (e.g. for memory) to save & load application state. Link to documentation. Quick ( [!NOTE] In version 0.43.0, the optional CLI included with [start] , [learn] , and [cli] requires Python 3.10+. Core library usage…
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Frequently asked questions
Is serviette or burr more popular?
serviette has 58,732 GitHub stars and burr has 2,589. serviette has the larger community by that measure.
Are serviette and burr free?
Both are open source. serviette is licensed under MIT and burr under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between serviette and burr?
serviette is written in Python and burr 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, serviette or burr?
Choose serviette if you want the larger community (58,732 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose burr if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.