# BettaFish vs firecrawl
_Research & Data Agents · independent comparison_

> BettaFish and firecrawl are both open-source research & data agents you can self-host for free. firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 168k stars vs 42k. Neither is universally better — pick by fit.

## Side by side

**BettaFish**
- Open source · Agent · 42k★ · Python · GPL-2.0 · active 2 days ago
- Best for: Multi-agent sentiment analysis across social platforms and large comment datasets.
- Avoid if: You need English documentation — the project is documented in Chinese.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/bettafish) · [official](https://deepwiki.com/666ghj/BettaFish)

**firecrawl**
- Open source · Infrastructure · 168k★ · TypeScript · AGPL-3.0 · active 3 days ago
- Best for: Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API.
- Avoid if: You need a full browser-automation agent rather than a data API.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/firecrawl) · [official](https://firecrawl.dev)

## Key differences

- firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 168k stars vs 42k.
- BettaFish is written primarily in Python; firecrawl in TypeScript.
- Licensing differs: BettaFish is GPL-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0.

## Which to choose

**Choose BettaFish if:** Multi-agent sentiment analysis across social platforms and large comment datasets.

**Choose firecrawl if:** Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API.

## FAQ

**What's the main difference between BettaFish and firecrawl?**
firecrawl has wider GitHub adoption — 168k stars vs 42k.

**Is BettaFish or firecrawl better?**
Neither is universally better. BettaFish is the stronger fit for Multi-agent sentiment analysis across social platforms and large comment datasets; firecrawl for Feeding agents clean web data: crawl, scrape, and convert to markdown via API. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.

**Is BettaFish or firecrawl free?**
BettaFish is free to run and self-host; firecrawl is free to run and self-host. Both are free to self-host — you only pay for the infrastructure and any model or API usage.

**Which is more popular, BettaFish or firecrawl?**
By GitHub stars — a proxy for open-source adoption — firecrawl is ahead (168k vs 42k). Stars measure attention, not necessarily the better fit for you.

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Source: [Agent Search Engine](https://agentsearchengine.app) — https://agentsearchengine.app/compare/bettafish-vs-firecrawl