# NextClaw vs OpenClaw

> Side-by-side comparison of two projects in the OpenClaw ecosystem.

Canonical HTML: https://shelldex.com/compare/nextclaw-vs-openclaw/
JSON: https://shelldex.com/api/compare/nextclaw-vs-openclaw.json

| Field | NextClaw | OpenClaw |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | Ultra-lightweight OpenClaw alternative with full plugin compatibility | The OG self-hosted AI super-agent |
| Language | typescript | typescript |
| Status | active | active |
| Stars | 208 | 369k |
| Forks | 29 | 76104 |
| Open issues | 3 | 7307 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Last commit | 2026-05-06T18:46:05Z | 2026-05-06T19:42:42Z |
| 7d growth | 2 | 1935 |
| MCP support | no | yes |
| Requires LLM | yes | yes |
| Platforms | cli, server, messaging | server |
| Categories | self-hosted, lightweight, messaging | reference, self-hosted |
| Health score | 80/100 | 95/100 |
| Leaderboard rank | #41 | #1 |

## Key differences

- OpenClaw has 1774x more stars (369k vs 208), indicating significantly broader adoption.
- OpenClaw is growing faster with +1.9k stars this week vs +2 for NextClaw.
- OpenClaw has MCP (Model Context Protocol) support while NextClaw does not.
- NextClaw focuses on lightweight, messaging while OpenClaw targets reference.
- OpenClaw scores higher on project health (maintenance activity, issue management, release cadence).

## Descriptions

### NextClaw

OpenClaw-inspired personal AI assistant at ~1/20 the codebase. 12+ AI providers, 10+ message channels (Discord, Telegram, Slack, WhatsApp, Feishu, DingTalk, and more), cron and heartbeat scheduling, browser UI configuration. Published on npm, runs locally.

### OpenClaw

The original. Self-hosted AI super-agent platform. Formerly Clawdbot, then Moltbot. The project that started it all.