--- title: "dograh vs willow" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/dograh-hq-dograh-vs-heywillow-willow" tools: ["dograh-hq-dograh", "heywillow-willow"] --- # dograh vs willow *GraphCanon updated Jul 30, 2026* ## Verdict Pick dograh if self-hosted voice AI platform with speech-to-speech, LLM integration, telephony support; pick willow if willow stands out with its emphasis on privacy through local self-hosting, offering a DIY alternative to commercial voice assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home. [dograh](https://app.dograh.com) reports 5.1k GitHub stars, 1.2k forks, and 20 open issues, last pushed Jul 29, 2026. [willow](https://heywillow.org/) has 3.1k stars, 124 forks, and 24 open issues, last pushed Jul 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [dograh's repository](https://github.com/dograh-hq/dograh) and [willow's repository](https://github.com/HeyWillow/willow). | | [dograh](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh.md) | [willow](/tools/heywillow-willow.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Self-hosted open source voice AI platform | Open source local self-hosted voice assistant alternative to Amazon Echo and Google Home | | Stars | 5,064 | 3,084 | | Forks | 1,185 | 124 | | Open issues | 20 | 24 | | Language | Python | C | | Adopt for | Self-hosted voice AI platform with speech-to-speech, LLM integration, telephony support | Willow stands out with its emphasis on privacy through local self-hosting, offering a DIY alternative to commercial voice assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Inference & Serving, Speech & Audio | Inference & Serving, Speech & Audio | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [dograh](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh.md) | [willow](/tools/heywillow-willow.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 0d | 4d | | Open issues (now) | 20 | 24 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/heywillow-willow/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: dograh - **Adopt for:** Self-hosted voice AI platform with speech-to-speech, LLM integration, telephony support ## Decision facts: willow - **Adopt for:** Willow stands out with its emphasis on privacy through local self-hosting, offering a DIY alternative to commercial voice assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home. ## Choose when ### Choose dograh if… - dograh is primarily Python; willow is C. - License: dograh is BSD-2-Clause, willow is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to dograh: conversational-ai, local-llm, self-hosted, speech-to-text. - You need on-premise deployment for better security or data control ### Choose willow if… - willow is primarily C; dograh is Python. - License: willow is Apache-2.0, dograh is BSD-2-Clause. - Tags unique to willow: alexa, deep-learning, echo, esp-adf. - willow ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Prefer Willow when aiming for maximum control over data and hardware used in home automation projects ## When NOT to use dograh - Seeking cloud-managed services without self-hosting capabilities - Need real-time collaboration with non-local models in the cloud - Preference is for tools under different licenses than BSD-2-Clause - Must integrate with platforms that lack native telephony support ## When NOT to use willow - Avoid Willow if real-time connectivity to cloud-based services is required or desired - Not suitable for those seeking a plug-and-play solution without the need for self-hosting infrastructure ## Common questions ### What is the difference between dograh and willow? dograh: Self-hosted open source voice AI platform. willow: Open source local self-hosted voice assistant alternative to Amazon Echo and Google Home. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose dograh over willow? Choose dograh over willow when dograh is primarily Python; willow is C; License: dograh is BSD-2-Clause, willow is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to dograh: conversational-ai, local-llm, self-hosted, speech-to-text; You need on-premise deployment for better security or data control. ### When should I choose willow over dograh? Choose willow over dograh when willow is primarily C; dograh is Python; License: willow is Apache-2.0, dograh is BSD-2-Clause; Tags unique to willow: alexa, deep-learning, echo, esp-adf; willow ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Prefer Willow when aiming for maximum control over data and hardware used in home automation projects. ### When should I avoid dograh? Seeking cloud-managed services without self-hosting capabilities Need real-time collaboration with non-local models in the cloud Preference is for tools under different licenses than BSD-2-Clause Must integrate with platforms that lack native telephony support ### When should I avoid willow? Avoid Willow if real-time connectivity to cloud-based services is required or desired Not suitable for those seeking a plug-and-play solution without the need for self-hosting infrastructure ### Is dograh or willow more popular on GitHub? dograh has more GitHub stars (5,064 vs 3,084). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are dograh and willow open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (dograh: BSD-2-Clause, willow: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to dograh or willow? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [dograh alternatives](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh/alternatives) and [willow alternatives](/tools/heywillow-willow/alternatives) ([dograh markdown twin](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh/alternatives.md), [willow markdown twin](/tools/heywillow-willow/alternatives.md)), 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](/compare/dograh-hq-dograh-vs-heywillow-willow.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, dograh or willow? dograh: Very active. willow: 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 dograh and willow? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [dograh trust report](/tools/dograh-hq-dograh/trust); [willow trust report](/tools/heywillow-willow/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dograh-hq-dograh`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=dograh-hq-dograh) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_