@CybrNut
Hermes"Hermes + DeepSeek Flash … I used it to gamify learning about Linux Networking Skills" for a teenager
Open agents comparison
Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw
The two biggest open agents, side by side: stars, license, where they run, cost, releases, and what people build.
Data checked · GitHub API, READMEs, X posts
The verdict, from the data
Better for you if…
Hermes Agent
- You want a self-improving agent that writes its own skills (per its README).
- It had the newest release in our data (v0.22.2).
Better for you if…
OpenClaw
- You want the biggest community: 392k GitHub stars vs 254k.
It depends
- Both are MIT and free; cost depends on the model or provider you connect.
- X buzz is a near tie (23 vs 22 posts in our brief).
- OpenClaw's local/cloud detail is unverified in our data.
From open-agents.json, checked Oct 16, 2026.
GitHub stars
Hermes AgentOpenClaw
Side by side
| Hermes Agent | OpenClaw | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 254,311 | 392,167 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Runs | both | both (unverified) |
| Cost | Free and open source (MIT). Bring your own keys, or use a Nous Portal subscription, which bundles models plus a Tool Gateway (web search, image gen, TTS, cloud browser). Portal lists per-token model prices. | Free (MIT); you pay your model provider. |
| Latest release | v0.22.2 · Oct 15, 2026 | v2026.10.4 · Oct 16, 2026 |
| Models | Any model: Nous Portal (300+ models), OpenRouter, OpenAI, custom endpoints and others; switch with `hermes model`. | Hosted and local model providers; models and agent harnesses (Claude, Codex, local models) are swappable plugins. |
| X Brief posts (Sep 16–Oct 16) | 23 | 22 |
| Use cases / complaints we list | 13 / 11 | 8 / 12 |
Use cases
@0x0SojalSec
HermesFully local on "Qwen3.8-Flash-Next on an RTX 5060 Ti (16GB) + offload 96GB RAM"
@witcheer
Hermes"Hermes Agent is driving my Microduck!", a robot walking 0.58 m from a single sentence
@ai_samerhaddad
OpenClawAgent 'Neura' made a booking in Dubai on his behalf using voice and calling tools
@cherry_mx_reds
OpenClawOpus orchestrating spare Codex resets "through Herdr, T3, Hermes, OpenClaw, whatever works"
@duckworth
OpenClawRuns a custom automated research and briefing workflow
FAQ
Which has more GitHub stars, Hermes Agent or OpenClaw?
OpenClaw: 392,167 vs Hermes Agent 254,311 (GitHub API, 2026-10-16).
Are Hermes Agent and OpenClaw open source?
Both are OSI open source: Hermes Agent is MIT, OpenClaw is MIT.
Which is more talked about on X?
In our X Brief (Sep 16 – Oct 16, 2026), Hermes had 23 tallied posts and OpenClaw 22. That lead is too small to call.