head to head · open source
ComfyUI vs LocalAI
ComfyUI has 133,963 GitHub stars, 15,874 forks, 4,894 open issues and last shipped today. LocalAI has 49,179 stars, 4,458 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped today. ComfyUI leads on adoption by 172% (133,963 vs 49,179 stars). ComfyUI is written in Python under GPL-3.0; LocalAI is written in Go under MIT. ComfyUI has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, LocalAI 9%. LocalAI was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| ComfyUI | LocalAI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 134K | ★ 49K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 4.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ComfyUI if
- You weight community size — 134K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LocalAI if
- You want the LocalAI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and LocalAI fits your workflow better
About ComfyUI
ComfyUI is a GPL 3.0 licensed Python and PyTorch node graph application, local API, and backend for running diffusion models across image, video, audio, 3D, and text workflows, built for visual professionals who want control over every model, parameter, and output, and for developers who embed those workflows into production pipelines.
read the full ComfyUI overview →
About LocalAI
LocalAI is an open source AI runtime that enables running large language models (LLMs), vision, audio, image, and video models locally or on premises. It operates as a modular engine where each model type is backed by a dedicated, lightweight backend—such as llama.cpp, whisper.cpp, or stable diffusion—pulled only when needed. This composable architecture avoids bundling unnecessary dependencies, keeping the core minimal while supporting diverse modalities and hardware configurations.
read the full LocalAI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ComfyUI or LocalAI more popular?
ComfyUI has 133,963 GitHub stars and LocalAI has 49,179. ComfyUI has the larger community by that measure.
Are ComfyUI and LocalAI free?
Both are open source. ComfyUI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and LocalAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ComfyUI and LocalAI?
ComfyUI is written in Python and LocalAI in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ComfyUI or LocalAI?
Choose ComfyUI if you want the larger community (133,963 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose LocalAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.