Comparison
relay vs firecrawl
Verdict
Pick relay when license: relay is Apache-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0; pick firecrawl when license: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, relay is Apache-2.0.
Markdown twin · relay alternatives · firecrawl alternatives
GraphCanon updated today
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | relay | firecrawl |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of today · github_public_v1 | Very active (0d since push) As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of today · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of today · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 4d · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- relay
- Get your agents talking. A hosted messaging store + router with fast retrieval. Useful for orchestrating agents.
- firecrawl
- The API to search, scrape, and interact with the web at scale. 🔥
Stars
- relay
- 764
- firecrawl
- 149k
Forks
- relay
- 58
- firecrawl
- 8.5k
Open issues
- relay
- 81
- firecrawl
- 395
Language
- relay
- TypeScript
- firecrawl
- TypeScript
Adopt for
- relay
- -
- firecrawl
- FireCrawl is an API-driven toolkit built for conducting scalable searches, scraping tasks, and interactive operations with the web using AI agents.
Persona
- relay
- -
- firecrawl
- -
Runtime
- relay
- -
- firecrawl
- -
License
- relay
- Apache-2.0
- firecrawl
- AGPL-3.0 license requires that any changes to FireCrawl's source code also be made available as free software when the adapted version is used.
Last pushed
- relay
- Jul 15, 2026
- firecrawl
- Jul 11, 2026
Categories
- relay
- AI Agents, Data & Retrieval, Evaluation & Observability
- firecrawl
- AI Agents, Data & Retrieval
Trust and health
Open issues (now)
- relay
- 81
- firecrawl
- 395
Full report
- relay
- Trust report
- firecrawl
- Trust report
Choose relay if…
- License: relay is Apache-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0.
- Tags unique to relay: agent, agent-collaboration, agent-communication, agent-skills.
- Also covers Evaluation & Observability.
When NOT to use relay
- AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism.
- Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough.
- Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers.
Choose firecrawl if…
- License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, relay is Apache-2.0.
- FireCrawl can be deployed on your infrastructure, giving you complete control over where and how the API interacts with web data.
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker.
- Tags unique to firecrawl: ai-agents, crawler, scraping, search.
- When you need to automate complex web interactions that require understanding context or content from multiple sources, leveraging its AI agent capabilities.
When NOT to use firecrawl
- For lightweight scraping tasks where minimal data extraction is sufficient and speed is of utmost importance without the need for advanced AI analysis.
- If you require open-source components under a license other than AGPL-3.0, as this license may impose certain restrictions on derivative works.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub forks (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Last push (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Last push (firecrawl/firecrawl) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- License file (AGPL-3.0) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: relay 764 · firecrawl 149k (synced Jul 15, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between relay and firecrawl?
- relay: Get your agents talking. A hosted messaging store + router with fast retrieval. Useful for orchestrating agents.. firecrawl: The API to search, scrape, and interact with the web at scale. 🔥. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose relay over firecrawl?
- Choose relay over firecrawl when License: relay is Apache-2.0, firecrawl is AGPL-3.0; Tags unique to relay: agent, agent-collaboration, agent-communication, agent-skills; Also covers Evaluation & Observability.
- When should I choose firecrawl over relay?
- Choose firecrawl over relay when License: firecrawl is AGPL-3.0, relay is Apache-2.0; FireCrawl can be deployed on your infrastructure, giving you complete control over where and how the API interacts with web data; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Tags unique to firecrawl: ai-agents, crawler, scraping, search; When you need to automate complex web interactions that require understanding context or content from multiple sources, leveraging its AI agent capabilities.
- When should I avoid relay?
- AI Agents: Don't use an agent loop when a deterministic workflow would do; agents add latency, cost, and non-determinism. Data & Retrieval: Skip a heavy ingestion framework when your corpus is small and static; a script plus the embedding API is enough. Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers.
- When should I avoid firecrawl?
- For lightweight scraping tasks where minimal data extraction is sufficient and speed is of utmost importance without the need for advanced AI analysis. If you require open-source components under a license other than AGPL-3.0, as this license may impose certain restrictions on derivative works.
- Is relay or firecrawl more popular on GitHub?
- firecrawl has more GitHub stars (149,109 vs 764). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are relay and firecrawl open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (relay: Apache-2.0, firecrawl: AGPL-3.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to relay or firecrawl?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at relay alternatives and firecrawl alternatives (relay markdown twin, firecrawl markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, relay or firecrawl?
- relay: Very active. firecrawl: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for relay and firecrawl?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: relay trust report; firecrawl trust report.