OpenHands vs OpenUI
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
OpenHands
Autonomous AI software engineering agent
VS
OpenUI
Describe UI with text and see it rendered live
| Feature | OpenHands | OpenUI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 83,415 | ★ 22,496 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Devin, GitHub Copilot Workspace | Vercel v0 |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenHands if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 83.4k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose OpenUI if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 22.5k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenHands or OpenUI better?
Neither is universally better. OpenHands has the larger community, while OpenUI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenHands and OpenUI free and open-source?
Yes. OpenHands is licensed under MIT and OpenUI under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenHands and OpenUI with Docker?
OpenHands: yes. OpenUI: yes.