OpenHands vs Roo Code
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
Roo Code
Customizable AI dev team inside VS Code
| Feature | OpenHands | Roo Code |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 83,415 | ★ 24,355 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Devin, GitHub Copilot Workspace | GitHub Copilot, Cursor |
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 Roo Code if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 24.4k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenHands or Roo Code better?
Neither is universally better. OpenHands has the larger community, while Roo Code is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenHands and Roo Code free and open-source?
Yes. OpenHands is licensed under MIT and Roo Code under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenHands and Roo Code with Docker?
OpenHands: yes. Roo Code: check the project docs for container support.