# deer-flow vs goose
_Autonomous Agents · independent comparison_

> deer-flow and goose are both open-source autonomous agents you can self-host for free. deer-flow has wider GitHub adoption — 80k stars vs 53k. Neither is universally better — pick by fit.

## Side by side

**deer-flow**
- Open source · Agent · 80k★ · Python · MIT · active 3 days ago
- Best for: Orchestrating sub-agents, memory, and sandboxes through one extensible skill system.
- Avoid if: You built on DeerFlow 1.x — version 2 is a ground-up rewrite that shares no code.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/deer-flow) · [official](https://deerflow.tech)

**goose**
- Open source · Agent · 53k★ · Rust · Apache-2.0 · active 2 days ago
- Best for: An extensible open-source agent on your machine that goes beyond coding tasks.
- Avoid if: You want a managed cloud product with support.
- [listing](https://agentsearchengine.app/agents/goose) · [official](https://goose-docs.ai/)

## Key differences

- deer-flow has wider GitHub adoption — 80k stars vs 53k.
- deer-flow is written primarily in Python; goose in Rust.
- Licensing differs: deer-flow is MIT, goose is Apache-2.0.

## Which to choose

**Choose deer-flow if:** Orchestrating sub-agents, memory, and sandboxes through one extensible skill system.

**Choose goose if:** An extensible open-source agent on your machine that goes beyond coding tasks.

## FAQ

**What's the main difference between deer-flow and goose?**
deer-flow has wider GitHub adoption — 80k stars vs 53k.

**Is deer-flow or goose better?**
Neither is universally better. deer-flow is the stronger fit for Orchestrating sub-agents, memory, and sandboxes through one extensible skill system; goose for An extensible open-source agent on your machine that goes beyond coding tasks. Use the side-by-side specs to decide by your own constraints.

**Is deer-flow or goose free?**
deer-flow is free to run and self-host; goose 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, deer-flow or goose?**
By GitHub stars — a proxy for open-source adoption — deer-flow is ahead (80k vs 53k). 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/deer-flow-vs-goose