head to head · open source
nanobot vs sim
nanobot has 49,806 GitHub stars, 8,711 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sim has 29,983 stars, 3,883 forks, 336 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nanobot leads on adoption by 66% (49,806 vs 29,983 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; sim is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. nanobot has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, sim 13%. sim was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (chatbot), 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
| nanobot | sim | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 30K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.7K | ⑂ 3.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick sim if
- You want the sim 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 sim fits your workflow better
About nanobot
English 简体中文 繁體中文 Español Français Bahasa Indonesia 日本語 한국어 Русский Tiếng Việt Discord · X · WeChat / Feishu nanobot 🐈 nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python. It runs in a WebUI, terminal, or chat apps and combines tools, long term memory, MCP integrations, model routing, multi agent delegation, scheduled automation, and an OpenAI compatible API in a small, readable core. Start Here What can nanobot do? nanobot is a self hosted personal AI agent runtime. It can: run in a browser WebUI or terminal connect to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WeChat, Email…
read the full nanobot overview →
About sim
A workspace to build, deploy and manage AI agents and workflows. Quickstart Cloud hosted: sim.ai Self hosted Open Desktop: macOS macOS 12+, Apple Silicon and Intel. See the desktop docs to point it at a self hosted deployment. Capabilities Connect 1,000+ integrations and every major LLM Add Slack, Notion, HubSpot, Salesforce, databases, and more Build agents visually, conversationally, or with code Ingest files, knowledge bases, and structured table data Monitor runs, logs, schedules, and workflow activity One workspace, every surface Chat and workflows are just the start — tables, files, and knowledge all live…
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or sim more popular?
nanobot has 49,806 GitHub stars and sim has 29,983. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and sim free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT and sim under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobot and sim?
nanobot is written in Python and sim 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, nanobot or sim?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (49,806 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose sim if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.