MetaGPT vs ChatDev
Both began as simulated software companies. MetaGPT still is one: product manager, architect, project manager and engineer roles follow an SOP, but the repository was last pushed in January 2026. ChatDev's main branch is now ChatDev 2.0, a YAML-defined workflow platform with a web console; the original system lives on the chatdev1.0 branch.
Facts side by side
| Fact | MetaGPT | ChatDev |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Framework | Framework |
| Languages / SDKs | Python | Python |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Pricing model | Open source, free | Open source, free |
| Orchestration pattern | Crew / roles | Graph |
| GitHub stars | 70,700 (as of 2026-09-30) | 34,424 (as of 2026-09-30) |
| GitHub forks | 8,988 | 4,313 |
| Last push | 2026-01-21 | 2026-07-24 |
| Latest release | v0.8.1 | v2.2.0 |
| Repository | FoundationAgents/MetaGPT | OpenBMB/ChatDev |
| Documentation | docs.deepwisdom.ai | github.com |
| Last verified | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-30 |
| MCP support | Unknown (checked 2026-09-30) | Yes (checked 2026-09-30) |
| A2A support | Unknown (checked 2026-09-30) | Unknown (checked 2026-09-30) |
| AG-UI support | Unknown (checked 2026-09-30) | Unknown (checked 2026-09-30) |
| Install verified | Not yet | Not yet |
Choose MetaGPT if
- You want the fixed software-company SOP that turns a one-line requirement into documents and code.
- You want roles that can be handed to a person with
is_human=True. - You are studying role-based agent teams and accept slower maintenance and Python below 3.12.
Choose ChatDev if
- You want to define agent workflows as YAML graphs and edit them on a visual canvas.
- You need MCP tools; ChatDev documents remote and local MCP servers, while no MCP support was found for MetaGPT.
- You want loops, human checkpoint nodes and nested subgraphs as first-class workflow elements.
Migration notes
There is no shared format. A MetaGPT Role with Actions roughly corresponds to a ChatDev agent node; MetaGPT's publish/subscribe (_watch) routing becomes explicit edges in the YAML graph; is_human=True becomes a human node. Installation differs sharply. MetaGPT is a PyPI package that requires Python >=3.9,<3.12; our install check on 2026-09-30 could not resolve the current release (see the MetaGPT tool page), and the README also documents installing from the Git repository. ChatDev 2.0 is run from a repository checkout with uv sync and needs Python 3.12 or newer, so the two cannot share one environment. If you need the original ChatDev behaviour, use the chatdev1.0 branch rather than main.
FAQ
Is ChatDev still a virtual software company?
Not on the main branch. ChatDev 2.0 is a general workflow platform; the original software-company system was moved to the chatdev1.0 branch for maintenance.
Is MetaGPT still maintained?
Activity has slowed: the last push to the main branch was on 2026-01-21 and the last tagged release is v0.8.2 from March 2025.
Which one supports MCP?
ChatDev: yes (client, remote HTTP and local stdio servers). MetaGPT: unknown; no official support was found.
Are both free?
Both repositories are open source (MetaGPT MIT, ChatDev Apache-2.0) and no paid hosted version of either framework is documented. The MetaGPT README also promotes the team's separate MGX product.