OpenHands vs SWE-agent
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
SWE-agent
Language-model agent that resolves GitHub issues
| Feature | OpenHands | SWE-agent |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 83,415 | ★ 20,018 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Devin, GitHub Copilot Workspace | Devin |
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 SWE-agent if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 20k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenHands or SWE-agent better?
Neither is universally better. OpenHands has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenHands and SWE-agent free and open-source?
Yes. OpenHands is licensed under MIT and SWE-agent under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenHands and SWE-agent with Docker?
OpenHands: yes. SWE-agent: yes.