# OpenHands vs Qwen Code

> Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on reliability and security & auth. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.md (~2,400 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on reliability and security & auth. Both do agent harness.

- OpenHands: grade BB, 70.8/100, rank #120 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openhands.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json
- Qwen Code: grade BB, 72.4/100, rank #88 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-code.json

## Which one, for what

### OpenHands (BB)

Good for: Teams that want to self-host a coding agent with a web UI, per-conversation Docker sandboxes and scheduled or webhook automations, or embed the agent through a Python SDK and REST API.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 69
- Security & auth, 66 against 53

Watch for: Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem

### Qwen Code (BB)

Good for: Developers and CI jobs that want an open-source harness tied to no single model vendor, with run budgets and SDKs.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 78

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where OpenHands loses 5 points for them

Watch for: The default approval mode is Auto, where an LLM classifier approves tool calls, and sandboxing and folder trust are both off by default


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | OpenHands | Qwen Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 69 | OpenHands +14 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 91 | Qwen Code +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 85 | Qwen Code +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 53 | OpenHands +13 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 85 | 88 | Qwen Code +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 63 | OpenHands +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **70.8 · BB** | **72.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | OpenHands | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | All Hands AI | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-10-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-09-03 | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 90k stars | 28k stars, 105k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**OpenHands.** A Docker container per conversation with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker`, each with its own Agent Server. Confirmation mode is off by default in Agent Canvas, and the npm install gives the agent the host's whole filesystem.

**Qwen Code.** Apache-2.0 with no account of its own, any OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini-compatible endpoint, and headless runs bounded by turn, tool-call and wall-time budgets with distinct exit codes. Out of the box, Auto mode lets an LLM classifier approve tool calls, with the sandbox and folder trust both off. Usage statistics are on by default.

## Before you call either

### OpenHands

1. Set `AGENT_CANVAS_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` and `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start
2. Start Canvas with `OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker` or use the Docker image. The npm install runs the agent on the host
3. Turn on confirmation mode with a risk threshold. Canvas starts with it off
4. Use the SDK or the Agent Server API for headless runs. The `openhands --headless` CLI is no longer maintained
5. Set `filter_tools_regex` on the agent to keep unneeded MCP tool definitions out of the context

### Qwen Code

1. Pass `--approval-mode` on every run. The settings default is `auto`, and one docs page says headless runs default to asking, so don't rely on either
2. Add `--max-session-turns`, `--max-wall-time` and `--max-tool-calls`. All three are unlimited by default. Exit 53 is the turn limit and 55 a budget
3. `--yolo` doesn't turn on a sandbox. Add `--sandbox`, or on Linux set `tools.executionSandbox` with `network` set to `closed`
4. Set `QWEN_USAGE_STATISTICS_ENABLED=false` to stop usage statistics
5. Authenticate with `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and `OPENAI_MODEL` in CI. The browser sign-in is discontinued

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, OpenHands or Qwen Code?

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against OpenHands's 70.8 (BB), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. OpenHands leads on reliability and security & auth.

### Are OpenHands and Qwen Code open source?

Yes. OpenHands is open source (MIT (Agent Canvas, SDK, tools and Agent Server). OpenHands Cloud is a hosted service). Qwen Code is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qwen-code.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "openhands", "b": "qwen-code"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare openhands qwen-code`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openhands.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-code.json

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