head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs MaxKB
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars, 7,658 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. MaxKB has 23,095 stars, 3,210 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 194% (67,862 vs 23,095 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; MaxKB is written in Python under GPL-3.0. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, MaxKB 14%. MaxKB was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (agentic-ai, llm), 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 | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 23K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.7K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AnythingLLM if
- You weight community size — 68K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick MaxKB if
- You want the MaxKB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and MaxKB fits your workflow better
About AnythingLLM
[!NOTE] We are also working on Open Computer which gives an entire computer environment for AI Agents to use. This will bring AnythingLLM's agent capabilities to a new level and a novel UX paradigm for AI Agent use. ⭐ Star the repo to stay updated! AnythingLLM: The all in one AI app you were looking for. Chat with your docs, use AI Agents, hyper configurable, multi user, & no frustrating setup required. Docs Hosted Instance English · 简体中文 · 日本語 👉 AnythingLLM for desktop (Mac, Windows, & Linux)! Download Now Chat with your docs. Automate complex workflows with AI Agents. Hyper configurable, multi user ready…
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
About MaxKB
Open source platform for building enterprise grade agents 强大易用的企业级智能体平台 [ 中文(简体) ] [ English ] MaxKB = Max Knowledge Brain, it is an open source platform for building enterprise grade agents. MaxKB integrates Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines, supports robust workflows, and provides advanced MCP tool use capabilities. MaxKB is widely applied in scenarios such as intelligent customer service, corporate internal knowledge bases, academic research, and education. RAG Pipeline : Supports direct uploading of documents / automatic crawling of online documents, with features for automatic text splitting…
read the full MaxKB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or MaxKB more popular?
AnythingLLM has 67,862 GitHub stars and MaxKB has 23,095. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and MaxKB free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and MaxKB under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and MaxKB?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and MaxKB in Python. 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 MaxKB?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (67,862 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose MaxKB if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.