head to head · open source
nanobot vs Jan
nanobot has 48,274 GitHub stars, 8,533 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jan has 44,512 stars, 3,032 forks, 521 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nanobot leads on adoption by 8% (48,274 vs 44,512 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; Jan is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. nanobot has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, Jan 7%. nanobot 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
| nanobot | Jan | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 45K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.5K | ⑂ 3.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Jan if
- You want the Jan feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Jan fits your workflow better
About nanobot
nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python, aimed at individual developers and small teams who want to run their own agent through a browser WebUI, a terminal, or chat apps instead of renting a hosted assistant.
read the full nanobot overview →
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.
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or Jan more popular?
nanobot has 48,274 GitHub stars and Jan has 44,512. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and Jan free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT, and Jan has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between nanobot and Jan?
nanobot is written in Python and Jan 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, nanobot or Jan?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (48,274 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Jan if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.