OpenClaw vs OpenManus Detailed Comparison
OpenClaw and OpenManus are both viral open-source AI agent frameworks in 2025-2026, but their design focus, maturity, use cases, and risks are vastly different. OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot / Moltbot) is a "chat-driven" personal assistant that emphasizes "actually doing things" via daily chat apps (like WhatsApp, Telegram), prioritizing fully local/self-hosted operation, suitable for daily automation. OpenManus is an open-source reproduction of Manus AI, leaning towards a "general agent" framework, where users input ideas via terminal, letting the AI autonomously plan and execute complex tasks (like data analysis, browser operations), more suitable for developers or researchers building multi-agent systems.
| Item | OpenClaw (github.com/openclaw/openclaw) | OpenManus (github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus) | Verdict (Subjective) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch & Growth | Exploded late 2025 - Jan 2026, GitHub stars 139,000+, extremely fast growth (0 to 100k in weeks), crazy community (e.g., MoltBook AI social) | Launched March 2025 (reproduced within 3 hours of Manus release), GitHub stars 54,000+, steady growth but less viral than OpenClaw | OpenClaw (More Popular) |
| Core Positioning | "The AI that actually does things": Chat-driven personal assistant, actively executes real actions (e.g., sending emails, clearing inbox, managing calendar, flight check-in, home appliance control), emphasizes local operation, no cloud dependency | "No fortress, purely open ground": General AI agent framework allowing AI to autonomously plan & execute complex tasks (e.g., travel planning, data analysis, coding), dev tool oriented, invitation-free Manus alternative | OpenClaw (More Practical for Daily Use) |
| Interaction Method | Extremely Strong: Natural conversation via existing chat apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Teams, etc.), like messaging a friend; supports voice wake-up (ElevenLabs), Live Canvas visual workspace | Mainly terminal input for ideas, supports multi-agent interaction; has MCP (Multi-Chain Prompt) tool version and unstable multi-agent version (run_flow.py) | OpenClaw (Seamless, User Friendly) |
| Autonomy & Execution | Extremely High: Heartbeat monitoring, cron background tasks, proactive reminders, tool invocation (browser control, file I/O, shell execution, device nodes like camera/screen recording); multi-agent coordination (session tools) | High: Task decomposition & execution (Plan & Execute), browser automation (Playwright), multi-agent collaboration; RL reinforcement learning branch (OpenManus-RL) for optimization | Tie (OpenClaw is more proactive, OpenManus is more structured) |
| Memory & Context | Strong: Persistent memory (Soul.md), cross-session context, long-term preference recording | Medium: Via LLM context, but no dedicated persistence mechanism; max tokens configurable in config.toml | OpenClaw (Better Persistence) |
| Model Support | Extremely Flexible: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, any LLM; OAuth/API key support, model failover, local-first | Flexible: OpenAI (gpt-4o etc.), vision models; config.toml for base URL, temperature, etc.; can integrate local LLMs | Tie (Both BYOM) |
| Extensibility (Skills/Tools) | Community Driven: ClawHub skill registry (hundreds, e.g., crypto, home appliance integration); tools include browser, nodes, cron, Gmail Pub/Sub | Modular: Browser tools (Playwright), custom tools; inspired by MetaGPT/OpenHands/SWE-agent | OpenClaw (Richer Ecosystem) |
| Proactive | Extremely Strong: Background running, webhooks, proactive messaging, daemon service (launchd/systemd) | Medium: Autonomous planning but mostly passive (executes after user input); RL branch can enhance this | OpenClaw |
| Security & Risk | High Risk but Protected: DM policy (pairing mode prevents unknown senders), sandbox (Docker not main session), whitelist tools, TCC permissions; but community warns of root exposure, malicious skills | Low-Medium Risk: API key stored in config.toml, no encryption; Open source MIT license, relies on user manual management | OpenManus (Simpler, Lower Security Barrier) |
| Installation & Running | Node.js ≥22, npm install -g openclaw@latest; onboard wizard guide; Docker/Nix support; daemon installation | Python 3.12, conda/uv + pip install -r requirements.txt; config.toml settings; Playwright optional | OpenManus (Lighter, No Node required) |
| Maturity & Stability | Extremely New (Latest release 2026.1.30), insanely fast iteration, but many bugs/security vulnerabilities; 35 releases | More Mature (v0.3.0 April 2025), but multi-agent version unstable; 3 releases | OpenManus (More Stable) |
| Community & Activity | Explosive: 139k stars, 20.4k forks, 360 contributors; Discord, Feishu; Contribution guide | Steady: 54k stars, 9.5k forks, 58 contributors; Feishu group, email contact | OpenClaw (More Active) |
| Hardware/Cost | Can be local small model + API fallback; Mac mini M4 popular; daemon runs 24/7 | Fully local priority, low cost; Python environment sufficient | OpenManus (More Economical) |
| Benchmark & Performance | No public benchmark seen; community feedback strong on practical tasks (e.g., email management), but hallucination/stability poor | GAIA benchmark: 74.3% (vs Manus 86.5%); Strong in task decomposition, but high token consumption, hallucinations | OpenManus (Data Supported) |
| Target Audience | Want extreme automation of daily life (e.g., clearing emails, managing calendar), willing to learn security, tech/general users who love new things | Developers/Researchers, want to build general agents (e.g., data analysis, multi-agent), pursue open source transparency | Depends on needs (OpenClaw more user-friendly) |
Summary & Recommendations (Based on Internet Discussions & GitHub Data)
You want an "AI partner" experience, proactively helping via chat apps, suitable for non-developers or those pursuing practical automation. But be careful with security (isolate with VM, no root), iteration is fastest but risk is high (e.g., API key exposure). Community is crazy active (as of evening Feb 1, 2026, catching up with latest release).
You prefer Python frameworks, want to customize general agents (e.g., complex task decomposition), or as a free alternative to Manus. Benchmarks show it catching up to original in GAIA etc., but output details less refined than Manus. Suitable for developers, low risk, easy to start.
The two can complement each other (OpenClaw as chat frontend, OpenManus as backend planning). If benchmarks matter, OpenManus is more transparent; but OpenClaw's ecosystem (ClawHub) is growing faster. Internet discussions often compare OpenManus with Manus/OpenAI, while OpenClaw is seen as the independent "Chat Agent" king.