Jan vs LibreChat vs LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)

Side by side, as alternatives to ChatGPT Plus. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

Janjanhq/jan

LibreChatLibreChat-AI/LibreChat

LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)lobehub/lobehub

ChatGPT Pluspaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Plus $20/month; Pro from $100/month source ↗

Chat assistant

Partly

Yes

Chat with your documents

Partly

Yes

Web search answers

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

1 of 3 jobs

3 of 3 jobs

1 of 3 jobs

All 3

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

45,023

46,088

83,366Top

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

195

478

1,103Top

—

Latest release

v0.8.7 · 2026-10-20Top

Unknown

v2.2.20 · 2026-10-18

—

Commits / 12 wk

748

1,481

3,046

—

People committing / 12 mo

46+

59+

129+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

119 / 137

191 / 88

103 / 52

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, desktop app running models offline

Yes, self-hosted web app via Docker or npm, served on localhost

Yes, self-hosted via Docker; desktop app also available

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0 (attribution requested)

MIT

LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved

—

Model weights licenceDiffers

No bundled weights; licence depends on the model you download

No bundled weights; licence depends on the model or API you connect

—

Commercial useDiffers

Yes, Apache-2.0 app; check the licence of the model you use

Yes, MIT code; check the licence or terms of the model you use

Unmodified commercial use OK; distributing derivatives needs a paid licence

—

Paid services needed?Differs

None required; cloud model providers optional

Works with local Ollama; most providers it targets are paid APIs

Self-host guide requires an OpenAI key; local Ollama documented as alternative

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

macOS 8GB RAM for 3B, 16GB for 7B, 32GB for 13B models; GPU optional

Not documented; depends on the model you run

Docker Compose self-hosting: minimum 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB storage; production 4+ cores, 8+ GB RAM, 50+ GB storage

—

Operating systemsDiffers

Windows 10+, macOS 13.6+, Linux (deb, AppImage, Flathub)

Windows, macOS, Linux via Docker or npm; Kubernetes via Helm

Docker self-host; desktop app on Windows, macOS, some Linux distributions

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; download installer (exe, dmg, deb, AppImage) or app stores

Medium; Docker Compose (bundles MongoDB, MeiliSearch, RAG API) or npm + MongoDB

Medium; setup script + docker compose, or one-click cloud deploy

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

Jan
LibreChat
LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)

Focus a point, use arrow keys, or tap for its value.

Tracked daily since 15 Oct 2026. Dashed history: estimated from public records of when people starred the repo. Lines connect observations only; gaps contain no measured points.

Growth % starts at each project's first observed point in the shown range. Zero-star starts are unavailable.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

Jan vs LibreChat vs LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) (as alternatives to ChatGPT Plus)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 21 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=jan,librechat,lobehub&product=chatgpt-plus

ChatGPT Plus: Plus $20/month; Pro from $100/month
Jan: free software; does 1 of 3 ChatGPT Plus jobs
LibreChat: free software; does 3 of 3 ChatGPT Plus jobs
LobeHub (formerly LobeChat): free software; does 1 of 3 ChatGPT Plus jobs

- Jan: 45,023 GitHub stars, 748 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0 (attribution requested)
- LibreChat: 46,088 GitHub stars, 1,481 commits in 12 weeks, licence MIT
- LobeHub (formerly LobeChat): 83,366 GitHub stars, 3,046 commits in 12 weeks, licence LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: Jan Yes, desktop app running models offline; LibreChat Yes, self-hosted web app via Docker or npm, served on localhost; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Yes, self-hosted via Docker; desktop app also available
- Code licence: Jan Apache-2.0 (attribution requested); LibreChat MIT; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) LobeHub Community License (Apache-2.0 + conditions); not OSI-approved
- Model weights licence: Jan No bundled weights; licence depends on the model you download; LibreChat No bundled weights; licence depends on the model or API you connect; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) No bundled weights; licence depends on the model or API you connect
- Commercial use: Jan Yes, Apache-2.0 app; check the licence of the model you use; LibreChat Yes, MIT code; check the licence or terms of the model you use; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Unmodified commercial use OK; distributing derivatives needs a paid licence
- Paid services needed?: Jan None required; cloud model providers optional; LibreChat Works with local Ollama; most providers it targets are paid APIs; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Self-host guide requires an OpenAI key; local Ollama documented as alternative
- Hardware: Jan macOS 8GB RAM for 3B, 16GB for 7B, 32GB for 13B models; GPU optional; LibreChat Not documented; depends on the model you run; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Docker Compose self-hosting: minimum 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB storage; production 4+ cores, 8+ GB RAM, 50+ GB storage
- Operating systems: Jan Windows 10+, macOS 13.6+, Linux (deb, AppImage, Flathub); LibreChat Windows, macOS, Linux via Docker or npm; Kubernetes via Helm; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Docker self-host; desktop app on Windows, macOS, some Linux distributions
- Setup effort: Jan Easy; download installer (exe, dmg, deb, AppImage) or app stores; LibreChat Medium; Docker Compose (bundles MongoDB, MeiliSearch, RAG API) or npm + MongoDB; LobeHub (formerly LobeChat) Medium; setup script + docker compose, or one-click cloud deploy

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

Want share images and a ready video description? Open a project's creator kit.

Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. janhq/jan ↗LibreChat-AI/LibreChat ↗lobehub/lobehub ↗

Jan vs LibreChat vs LobeHub (formerly LobeChat)

Stars over time

Notes for a video or post

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