# Hardhat vs OpenZeppelin Contracts

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Hardhat

| Attribute | Hardhat | OpenZeppelin Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 61.7 (59% (medium)) | 31.8 (31% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 0 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 36,669 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,514 | 214 |
| content.faq | - | `[{"answer":"Provides battle-tested smart contract code implementing ERC standards and security best practices for blockchain development, supporting Solidity, Cairo, Stellar, Sui, and other platforms. It is indexed under Blockchain Dev Tools.","source":"https://www.openzeppelin.com/contracts","question":"What is OpenZeppelin Contracts?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenZeppelin Contracts is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.openzeppelin.com/contracts","question":"Is OpenZeppelin Contracts free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"OpenZeppelin Contracts supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://www.openzeppelin.com/contracts","question":"What platforms does OpenZeppelin Contracts support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. OpenZeppelin Contracts can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.openzeppelin.com/contracts","question":"Can OpenZeppelin Contracts be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. OpenZeppelin Contracts is published under the AGPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/openzeppelin/openzeppelin-skills","question":"Is OpenZeppelin Contracts open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A development environment that enables engineers to write, test, deploy, and debug Ethereum smart contracts using Solidity and TypeScript, with support for fuzzing, code analysis, and multi-chain simulation. | Provides battle-tested smart contract code implementing ERC standards and security best practices for blockchain development, supporting Solidity, Cairo, Stellar, Sui, and other platforms. |
| features.capabilities | `{"open_source":true,"tooling_type":"framework","trace_debugger":true,"mainnet_forking":true,"local_dev_network":true,"maintenance_status":"active","evm_compatible_only":true,"native_fuzzing_invariant_testing":true}` | `{"open_source":true,"tooling_type":"contract-library","maintenance_status":"active","evm_compatible_only":false}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Optimism OP Stack"},{"name":"Base"},{"name":"Mocha"},{"name":"OP Stack","native":true}]` | - |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | - | AGPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://hardhat.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-11T19:19:38.016Z"}` | `{"type":"free","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Open Source","description":"Free access to OpenZeppelin Contracts library","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.openzeppelin.com/contracts","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:46:48.699Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.19.0","date":"2026-10-08T16:49:44Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-zod-utils%403.0.7","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:34Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-zod-utils@3.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers-chai-matchers%403.0.12","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:37Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers-chai-matchers@3.0.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.2","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:32Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.18.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:51:27Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.18.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/ignition-core%403.1.10","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:19Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/ignition-core@3.1.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify%403.1.2","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:17Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify@3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils%404.4.0","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:11Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils@4.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-keystore%403.1.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:15Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-keystore@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:13Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.18.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:38:20Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify%403.1.1","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:57Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils%404.3.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:48Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils@4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-toolbox-mocha-ethers%404.0.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:58Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-toolbox-mocha-ethers@4.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-slang-solx%403.0.4","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:56Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-slang-solx@3.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-mocha%404.0.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:54Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-mocha@4.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers%404.2.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:52Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers@4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:49Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.17.0","date":"2026-09-17T15:22:02Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/ignition-ui%403.2.0","date":"2026-09-17T14:36:50Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/ignition-ui@3.2.0"}]` | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=hardhat&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Blockchain Dev Tools)

| Capability | Hardhat | OpenZeppelin Contracts |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Tooling type | Framework | Contract library |
| Evm compatible only | ✓ | ✗ |
| Local dev network | ✓ | - |
| Native fuzzing invariant testing | ✓ | - |
| Mainnet forking | ✓ | - |
| Contract verification integration | - | - |
| Trace debugger | ✓ | - |
| Gas profiling | - | - |
| Archive node access | - | - |
| Graphql indexing | - | - |
| Static analysis security tool | - | - |
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Maintenance status | Active | Active |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-17T04:47:33.595Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*