head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs wisp-science
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars, 7,348 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. wisp-science has 1,150 stars, 118 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped today. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 5,653% (66,155 vs 1,150 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; wisp-science is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, wisp-science 10%. wisp-science was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | wisp-science | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 118 |
| 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 wisp-science if
- You want the wisp-science feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and wisp-science 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 wisp-science
Wisp Science The open source, local first AI research workbench. WISP — Workspace for Intelligent Scientific Practice English · 简体中文 · Website · Releases Search the literature, run Python and R, query 80 scientific databases, and keep the trail — figures, runs, decisions, and drafts — in one project. Your data, conversations, and credentials stay on your machines. Bring your own model. Keep your science. What you can do An agent that does the work Bring OpenAI compatible or Anthropic models, or drive Codex / Claude Code over ACP. The agent reads and writes project files, runs shell, and loads reusable Skills ( SK…
read the full wisp-science overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or wisp-science more popular?
AnythingLLM has 66,155 GitHub stars and wisp-science has 1,150. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and wisp-science free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and wisp-science under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and wisp-science?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and wisp-science in Rust. 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 wisp-science?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (66,155 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose wisp-science if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.