head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs MaxKB
AnythingLLM has 66,141 GitHub stars, 7,347 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaxKB has 22,824 stars, 3,156 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 190% (66,141 vs 22,824 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| AnythingLLM | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 23K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| 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 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
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 MaxKB
MaxKB is an open source Python platform for building enterprise grade agents in the AI and machine learning ecosystem. It combines a web interface, LangChain based retrieval augmented generation, workflow orchestration, and MCP tool use so organizations can connect large language models to their own documents, systems, and business processes. The project is positioned as a knowledge brain deployed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
read the full MaxKB overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Interaction & Interfaces projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Interaction & Interfaces field.
Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or MaxKB more popular?
AnythingLLM has 66,141 GitHub stars and MaxKB has 22,824. 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 (66,141 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose MaxKB if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.