head to head · open source
Langchain-Chatchat vs Kai
Langchain-Chatchat has 38,643 GitHub stars, 6,266 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. Kai has 1,255 stars, 185 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Langchain-Chatchat leads on adoption by 2,979% (38,643 vs 1,255 stars). Langchain-Chatchat is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Kai is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. Langchain-Chatchat has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Kai 15%. Kai was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (chatbot), 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
| Langchain-Chatchat | Kai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2025-11-10 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 185 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Langchain-Chatchat if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Kai if
- You want the Kai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Kai fits your workflow better
About Langchain-Chatchat
Langchain Chatchat (formerly Langchain ChatGLM) is an open source RAG and Agent application built on the Langchain framework and designed to run against local large language models such as ChatGLM, Qwen, and Llama. It lives in the Python ecosystem, is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, and is published on PyPI as langchain chatchat . The project targets Chinese language scenarios and open source models specifically, with the stated goal of providing a knowledge base question answering solution that can run entirely offline.
read the full Langchain-Chatchat overview →
About Kai
Kai 9000 is an Apache 2.0 licensed, open source AI assistant written in Kotlin that runs with persistent memory across Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and the web, built for people who want a personal assistant that keeps its context and works on their own devices.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Langchain-Chatchat or Kai more popular?
Langchain-Chatchat has 38,643 GitHub stars and Kai has 1,255. Langchain-Chatchat has the larger community by that measure.
Are Langchain-Chatchat and Kai free?
Both are open source. Langchain-Chatchat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kai under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Langchain-Chatchat and Kai?
Langchain-Chatchat is written in Python and Kai in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Langchain-Chatchat or Kai?
Choose Langchain-Chatchat if you want the larger community (38,643 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.