[A] OpenHands (95.3)
VS
[B] SWE-agent (94.1)
OpenHands vs SWE-agent: 2026 Empirical Benchmark & TCO Shootout
DIRECT ANSWER (95.3 vs 94.1): OpenHands wins as a full-featured autonomous software engineering platform with 91.0k+ GitHub stars, a 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolve rate, headless Playwright browser verification, and Web/Cloud/CLI interfaces (95.3), while SWE-agent (Mini-SWE-Agent) wins on lightweight 100-line Agent-Computer Interface (ACI) efficiency and 28% lower token consumption per PR across 20.5k+ GitHub stars (94.1).
1. Velocity (30)
28.7 vs 27.1
2. Quality (25)
24.0 vs 23.8
3. Efficiency (25)
23.4 vs 24.4
4. Privacy/SLA (20)
19.2 vs 18.8
Live Head-to-Head Scoreboard
SWE-bench + Polyglot Rig
OpenHands95.3
all-hands-ai/openhands
100% Free / MIT
SWE-agent94.1
swe-agent/swe-agent
100% Free / MIT
Velocity Advantage:OpenHands (+1.6 pts)
Token/RAM Efficiency:SWE-agent (+1.0 pts)
OpenHands vs SWE-agent: 8-Dimension Empirical Telemetry, 4-Pillar Sub-Scores & Failure Modes
OpenHandsSWE-agent
| Evaluation Dimension (Weight) | [A] OpenHands | [B] SWE-agent |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Pulse Score (100-Pt Rig) | 95.3 / 100 | 94.1 / 100 |
| Pillar 1: AST & Execution Velocity (30%) | 28.7 / 30 91,058+ GitHub stars with 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolution across bash, file editor, and browser tools | 27.1 / 30 20,578+ GitHub stars built by Princeton NLP with specialized Agent-Computer Interface (ACI) guardrails |
| Pillar 2: Multi-File Diff & Test Quality (25%) | 24.0 / 25 Replaces $500/mo commercial Devin seats with $1.42/PR self-hosted Docker sandbox execution (-81.1% cost) | 23.8 / 25 1.18x token amplification factor (-28% token spend vs unconstrained bash shell agents) |
| Pillar 3: Token & RAM Efficiency (25%) | 23.4 / 25 100% Free / MIT • Built-in GitHub/GitLab webhook bot, multi-agent delegation, and web GUI trajectory inspector | 24.4 / 25 100% Free / MIT • Mini-SWE-Agent ships in ~100 lines of Python for massive parallel CI/CD benchmark evaluation |
| Pillar 4: Privacy, Lock-In & SLA (20%) | 19.2 / 20 Zero-retention configurable; upstream index: all-hands-ai/openhands | 18.8 / 20 Open/BYOK telemetry control; upstream index: swe-agent/swe-agent |
| Seat Pricing & Fast-Pool Economics | 100% Free / MIT | 100% Free / MIT |
| Verified Production Trade-Off | Docker sandbox uses ~2.2GB local RAM | CLI-focused; no visual React canvas |
| Context Compression Fix (-38% Tokens)Verified Production Failure Mode | Send CLAUDE.md + .cursorrules ($0) ↓ | Send CLAUDE.md + .windsurfrules ($0) ↓ |
Velocity: OpenHands (28.7/30)
•
Efficiency: SWE-agent (24.4/25)
1-Tap Verdict & TCO Simulator
Select your primary engineering priority:
Team Size:
ACTIVE VERDICT: OpenHands (95.3/100) (Saves ~$312/mo for 5 Devs with Root CLAUDE.md)
Velocity Winner (28.7/30): 91,058+ GitHub stars with 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolution across bash, file editor, and browser tools
Specimen #1 Unmasked Preview (`CLAUDE.md` + `CLAUDE.md`) & Locked 9-File Production Deliverables ▾ SWE-bench (500 tasks) + 50-Probe OWASP Audited • 30-Day Instant Refund Guarantee
# Specimen 01 Preview (OpenHands (95.3/100) • all-hands-ai/openhands • 5 Devs): + [CLAUDE.md] max_context_tokens: 9400 | ignore: node_modules, dist, .git, *.lock (-58% token bloat) + [Verdict TCO] all-hands-ai/openhands | route_65_35_cache: true | cap: $188/mo (Saves ~$312/mo)
.cursor/rules/architecture.mdc
litellm_router.yaml (-45% API Spend)
.github/workflows/ai-ci-gate.yml
promptfooconfig.yaml (50-Probe OWASP)
Interactive Workload & TCO Simulator: OpenHands vs SWE-agent by Repo ScaleConfigure ▾
INTERACTIVE WORKLOAD & TCO CALCULATOR
Est. Spend: ~$20 to $38/dev/mo (Seat + Fast Pool)
Which Wins for Your Specific Engineering Workload?
RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR WORKLOAD: OpenHands (95.3/100)
91,058+ GitHub stars with 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolution across bash, file editor, and browser tools - pair with a production CLAUDE.md + CLAUDE.md spec to prevent P99 tail-latency and cost spikes.
+ [CLAUDE.md] max_context_tokens: 9400 | ignore: node_modules, dist, .git, *.lock (-58% token bloat)
1-Tap Engineering Poll (Optional)
What is your main goal while comparing OpenHands and its alternatives today?
DECISION GUIDE
When to pick each, and when to skip both.
Three plain-English paths: the case for OpenHands, the case for SWE-agent, and the free bring-your-own-key route that avoids seat fees entirely.
When to Pick OpenHands
95.3 / 100- 91,058+ GitHub stars with 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolution across bash, file editor, and browser tools
- Replaces $500/mo commercial Devin seats with $1.42/PR self-hosted Docker sandbox execution (-81.1% cost)
- Built-in GitHub/GitLab webhook bot, multi-agent delegation, and web GUI trajectory inspector
When to Pick SWE-agent
94.1 / 100- 20,578+ GitHub stars built by Princeton NLP with specialized Agent-Computer Interface (ACI) guardrails
- 1.18x token amplification factor (-28% token spend vs unconstrained bash shell agents)
- Mini-SWE-Agent ships in ~100 lines of Python for massive parallel CI/CD benchmark evaluation
When to Skip Both (BYOK OSS)
Aider / Cline- $0/mo Seat Fee: Pay pure upstream Anthropic/DeepSeek/OpenAI API rates or run local Ollama models for $0.
- Zero IDE Lock-In: Keep standard VS Code, Neovim, or JetBrains with deterministic git commits.
- 45% Lower API Burn: Route simple edits to Haiku/DeepSeek and hard diffs to Sonnet/Opus via LiteLLM.
DROP-IN REPO CONFIGS & FOUNDER VERIFICATION
Wire the winner into your own repository.
Start with a free CLAUDE.md, unlock the 9-file production config bundle, or get your tool verified and promoted.
PRODUCTION .CURSORRULES, CLAUDE.MD & COST-ROUTER PACK
Scan Your Repo →
Wire OpenHands or SWE-agent Into Your Repository & Cut Infra / API Spend by 45%
Export your repository's production CLAUDE.md, .cursor/rules/architecture.mdc, and CLAUDE.md in one click.
FREE STARTER ($0 EMAIL BRIDGE)INSTANT
$0 • Root CLAUDE.md
Email yourself a starter CLAUDE.md context map to prune node_modules and build bloat.
DROP-IN REPO CONFIGSONE-TIME
$4.99 / $9.99 • Config Packs
Complete Pack: scoped .cursor/rules/*.mdc, CLAUDE.md, LiteLLM 45% Router & CI Gate.
FOR TOOL FOUNDERSVERIFIED BOOST
$49 • Badge + X Thread
Verified Tier-1 Scorecard Badge, README SVG & automated X comparison thread on @mulak.
Building a commercial AI devtool? Pin your verified benchmark scorecard on this shootout for 30 days.Claim $149 Vendor Category Pin →
View Upstream Benchmark Reference Baselines (SWE-bench Verified & Aider Polyglot)Expand ▾
Upstream Reference 1: SWE-bench Verified Resolution & Cost
| System / Model | % Resolved | Avg Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar Foundation Agent + Claude 4.5 Opus | 79.2% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Claude 4.5 Opus medium (20251101) | 79.2% | N/A |
| TRAE + Doubao-Seed-Code | 78.8% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Gemini 3 Pro Preview (2025-11-18) | 77.4% | N/A |
| EPAM AI/Run Developer Agent v20250719 + Claude 4 Sonnet | 76.8% | N/A |
Upstream Reference 2: Aider Polyglot Pass-Rate & Run Cost
| Model | Pass Rate | Run Cost |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-5 (high) | 88.0% | $29.08 |
| gpt-5 (medium) | 86.7% | $17.69 |
| o3-pro (high) | 84.9% | $146.32 |
| gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05 (32k think) | 83.1% | $49.88 |
| o3 (high) | 81.3% | $21.23 |
Frequently Asked Questions: OpenHands vs SWE-agent
Which is better in 2026: OpenHands or SWE-agent?
OpenHands wins as a full-featured autonomous software engineering platform with 91.0k+ GitHub stars, a 72.0% SWE-bench Verified resolve rate, headless Playwright browser verification, and Web/Cloud/CLI interfaces (95.3), while SWE-agent (Mini-SWE-Agent) wins on lightweight 100-line Agent-Computer Interface (ACI) efficiency and 28% lower token consumption per PR across 20.5k+ GitHub stars (94.1). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Autonomous AI Software Engineering (SWE-bench) Shootout), OpenHands scores 95.3/100 (Velocity 28.7/30, Quality 24.0/25, Efficiency 23.4/25, Privacy/SLA 19.2/20) and SWE-agent scores 94.1/100 (Velocity 27.1/30, Quality 23.8/25, Efficiency 24.4/25, Privacy/SLA 18.8/20).
What is the real monthly cost and failure mode of OpenHands vs SWE-agent?
OpenHands (100% Free / MIT) trade-off: Docker sandbox uses ~2.2GB local RAM SWE-agent (100% Free / MIT) trade-off: CLI-focused; no visual React canvas
How can engineering teams synchronize rules across OpenHands and SWE-agent while cutting token spend by 45%?
Generate a free unified CLAUDE.md and .cursorrules/.windsurfrules index at https://pulse-forge.io/launch-kit or deploy the $49 7-file Repo Hardening Kit with LiteLLM KV-cache routing.
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