head to head · open source
ComfyUI vs LocalAI
ComfyUI has 145,017 GitHub stars, 17,260 forks, 4,894 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LocalAI has 50,203 stars, 4,577 forks, 201 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ComfyUI leads on adoption by 189% (145,017 vs 50,203 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 | ★ 145K | ★ 50K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 17K | ⑂ 4.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ComfyUI if
- You weight community size — 145K 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 The most powerful and modular AI engine for content creation. [![Website][website shield]][website url] [![Dynamic JSON Badge][discord shield]][discord url] [![Twitter][twitter shield]][twitter url] [![Matrix][matrix shield]][matrix url] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][github release date shield]][github release link] [![][github downloads shield]][github downloads link] [![][github downloads latest shield]][github downloads link] [matrix shield]: [matrix url]: [website shield]: [website url]: [discord shield]: [discord url]: [twitter shield]: [twitter url]: [github release…
read the full ComfyUI overview →
About LocalAI
Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 LocalAI is the open source AI engine. Run any model LLMs, vision, voice, image, video on any hardware. No GPU required. A small core, not a bundle. Each backend wraps a best in class engine (llama.cpp, vLLM, whisper.cpp, stable diffusion, MLX...) in its own image, pulled only when a model needs it. You install nothing you don't use. Composable by design : backends are separate and pulled on demand, so you install only what your model needs Open and extensible : load any model, or build your own backend in any language against an open interface Drop in API…
read the full LocalAI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ComfyUI or LocalAI more popular?
ComfyUI has 145,017 GitHub stars and LocalAI has 50,203. 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 (145,017 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose LocalAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.