# hermes-agent vs Understudy

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

| | hermes-agent | Understudy |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 89/100 ✓ | 48/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 120 in AI Assistant | #110 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 258 015 ✓ | 465 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +9 592 | — |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 36 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v0.22.5 · 23 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

hermes-agent scores 89/100 against 48/100 for Understudy, so it is the safer default.

hermes-agent ships more often: 36 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Understudy.

hermes-agent is growing faster right now (+9 592 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [hermes-agent](https://selfhost.directory/project/hermes-agent) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hermes-agent.md)
- [Understudy](https://selfhost.directory/project/understudy) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/understudy.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/hermes-agent-vs-understudy