head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs k-dense-byok
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars, 7,348 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. k-dense-byok has 1,235 stars, 151 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 5,257% (66,155 vs 1,235 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; k-dense-byok is written in TypeScript under MIT. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, k-dense-byok 12%. AnythingLLM was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (agentic-ai), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| AnythingLLM | k-dense-byok | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 151 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AnythingLLM if
- You weight community size — 66K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick k-dense-byok if
- You want the k-dense-byok feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and k-dense-byok fits your workflow better
About AnythingLLM
AnythingLLM is a local first AI application that enables users to chat with their documents using any large language model (LLM), local or cloud hosted. It runs as a self hosted service—by default in Docker—and provides a complete interface for document ingestion, agent orchestration, multi user access, and workflow automation without requiring external cloud dependencies. The project lives in the local AI and AI interaction ecosystem, targeting users who want full control over their data and model selection.
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
About k-dense-byok
K Dense BYOK 🎥 Webinar recording: Getting Started with K Dense BYOK An online walkthrough of installing Kady and running your first research task, with live Q&A. 👉 Watch the recording on YouTube Your own AI research assistant, running on your computer, powered by the accounts and API keys you choose. K Dense BYOK (Bring Your Own Keys) is a free, open source app that gives you Kady — an AI research assistant for scientists in any field. Describe a task in plain language — analyze this dataset , review my manuscript , search the literature , build this figure — and Kady works through it in a complete research wor…
read the full k-dense-byok overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or k-dense-byok more popular?
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars and k-dense-byok has 1,235. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and k-dense-byok free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and k-dense-byok under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and k-dense-byok?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and k-dense-byok in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, AnythingLLM or k-dense-byok?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (66,155 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose k-dense-byok if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.