head to head · open source
AnythingLLM vs Zola
AnythingLLM has 66,141 GitHub stars, 7,347 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zola has 1,531 stars, 295 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. AnythingLLM leads on adoption by 4,220% (66,141 vs 1,531 stars). AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT; Zola is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. AnythingLLM has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Zola 19%. AnythingLLM was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Zola | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 7.3K | ⑂ 295 |
| 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 Zola if
- You want the Zola feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Zola 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 Zola
Zola is an open source TypeScript chat interface for multiple AI model providers. It lives in the AI interaction and interface ecosystem and gives users one chat surface for OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, and local Ollama models. The project uses Apache 2.0 and is built with Next.js, prompt kit, shadcn/ui, Tailwind CSS, Vercel AI SDK, and Supabase.
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Frequently asked questions
Is AnythingLLM or Zola more popular?
AnythingLLM has 66,141 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,531. AnythingLLM has the larger community by that measure.
Are AnythingLLM and Zola free?
Both are open source. AnythingLLM is licensed under MIT and Zola under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AnythingLLM and Zola?
AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript and Zola 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 Zola?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want the larger community (66,141 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.