Alternatives to ChatGPT and Claude
Chat with AI on your own machine or server, with models and documents you choose.
Ranked by score out of 30, most convivial first.
Ollama
Runs open AI models on your own computer and gives other apps a local server to use them.
AnythingLLM
A desktop or Docker app for chatting with your documents using local or cloud models.
Jan
An open-source chat app that runs AI models fully offline on your computer.
LibreChat
A self-hosted chat site that puts many AI providers behind one login you run yourself.
Chatbox
A desktop chat client that keeps your conversations on your own device and talks to the model you choose.
Khoj
A self-hostable AI second brain that answers from your notes and the web with a model you choose.
Open WebUI
A polished self-hosted AI interface whose licence now carries a branding clause.
For comparison
The big names these tools are measured against. We review them as benchmarks, so they sit outside the directory.
About these tools
A chat window does not have to belong to the company whose model answers. Ollama and Jan run models on your own computer, AnythingLLM answers from your documents, LibreChat puts many providers behind one login on a server you control, Open WebUI is the interface many Ollama users start with, Chatbox is a plain desktop client, and Khoj reads your notes.
Licences differ more than people expect here, so read them. Open WebUI carries a branding clause, Khoj is AGPL, and AnythingLLM is MIT but collects anonymous telemetry by default. We reviewed ChatGPT and Claude as benchmarks.
How to choose
Start with who will use it. For one person, Ollama with Jan, or AnythingLLM if you have documents. For a family or a team, LibreChat or Open WebUI, after you read its licence. For notes and a second brain, Khoj. Then check what leaves the machine, since a local interface can still call a cloud model.
Frequently asked questions
Can I chat with my own documents privately?
AnythingLLM answers from your documents using local models, and it says its telemetry can be switched off.
Which of these are fully open source?
Ollama, AnythingLLM, LibreChat and Chatbox use MIT or GPL licences, Khoj uses AGPL-3.0, and Open WebUI uses a custom licence with a branding clause that its docs say is not OSI-approved.
Do I need a server?
LibreChat and Open WebUI are self-hosted, while Ollama, Jan, AnythingLLM and Chatbox run on a desktop.