head to head · open source
Jan vs MaxKB
Jan has 44,512 GitHub stars, 3,032 forks, 521 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaxKB has 22,824 stars, 3,156 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jan leads on adoption by 95% (44,512 vs 22,824 stars). Jan is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; MaxKB is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Jan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, MaxKB 14%. Jan 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
| Jan | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 23K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| 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 MaxKB if
- You want the MaxKB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and MaxKB 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 MaxKB
MaxKB is an open source Python platform for building enterprise grade agents in the AI and machine learning ecosystem. It combines a web interface, LangChain based retrieval augmented generation, workflow orchestration, and MCP tool use so organizations can connect large language models to their own documents, systems, and business processes. The project is positioned as a knowledge brain deployed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
read the full MaxKB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jan or MaxKB more popular?
Jan has 44,512 GitHub stars and MaxKB has 22,824. Jan has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jan and MaxKB free?
Both are open source. Jan has no licence declared in this registry, and MaxKB is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Jan and MaxKB?
Jan is written in TypeScript and MaxKB 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 MaxKB?
Choose Jan if you want the larger community (44,512 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose MaxKB if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.