head to head · open source
Jan vs llm-workflow-engine
Jan has 44,566 GitHub stars, 3,040 forks, 521 open issues and last shipped yesterday. llm-workflow-engine has 3,714 stars, 467 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 15 days ago. Jan leads on adoption by 1,100% (44,566 vs 3,714 stars). Jan is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; llm-workflow-engine is written in Python under MIT. Jan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, llm-workflow-engine 13%. Jan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (chatgpt, 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
| Jan | llm-workflow-engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 467 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Jan if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick llm-workflow-engine if
- You want the llm-workflow-engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and llm-workflow-engine fits your workflow better
About Jan
Jan is an open source desktop application that serves as a ChatGPT replacement, enabling users to run large language models (LLMs) locally on their machines or connect to cloud based providers like OpenAI and Anthropic. It is built with Tauri, TypeScript, and integrates llama.cpp for efficient local inference, targeting privacy conscious users who want full control over their AI workflows without sending data to third parties.
About llm-workflow-engine
LLM Workflow Engine (LWE) is an MIT licensed Python CLI and workflow manager that lets developers and operators drive ChatGPT, GPT 4 and other large language models from the terminal, embed those calls in scripts and Ansible Playbook workflows, and extend the whole thing through a plugin architecture.
read the full llm-workflow-engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jan or llm-workflow-engine more popular?
Jan has 44,566 GitHub stars and llm-workflow-engine has 3,714. Jan has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jan and llm-workflow-engine free?
Both are open source. Jan has no licence declared in this registry, and llm-workflow-engine is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Jan and llm-workflow-engine?
Jan is written in TypeScript and llm-workflow-engine 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, Jan or llm-workflow-engine?
Choose Jan if you want the larger community (44,566 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose llm-workflow-engine if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.