# deer-flow vs ThoughtDAG

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | deer-flow | ThoughtDAG |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 86/100 ✓ | 51/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 209 in AI Agents | #25 of 69 in AI Chat |
| GitHub stars | 84 574 ✓ | 716 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 653 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 10 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.1.0 · 24 Sept 2026 | v0.5.26 · 25 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

deer-flow scores 86/100 against 51/100 for ThoughtDAG, so it is the safer default.

ThoughtDAG ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for deer-flow.

If you want the quickest setup, ThoughtDAG is easier to run; deer-flow needs more configuration.

deer-flow is growing faster right now (+1 653 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [deer-flow](https://selfhost.directory/project/deer-flow) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/deer-flow.md)
- [ThoughtDAG](https://selfhost.directory/project/thoughtdag) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/thoughtdag.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/deer-flow-vs-thoughtdag