head to head · open source
LobeChat vs Gemini-API
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars, 16,033 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Gemini-API has 3,781 stars, 593 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. LobeChat leads on adoption by 2,114% (83,716 vs 3,781 stars). LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Gemini-API is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. LobeChat has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, Gemini-API 16%. LobeChat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, gemini), 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
| LobeChat | Gemini-API | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 84K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 593 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LobeChat if
- You weight community size — 84K 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 Gemini-API if
- You want the Gemini-API feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Gemini-API fits your workflow better
About LobeChat
[![][image banner]][vercel link] LobeHub LobeHub organizes your agents into 7×24 operation. It hires, schedules, reports on your entire AI team. You stay in charge — without staying online. English · 简体中文 · [Official Site][official site] · [Changelog][changelog] · [Documents][docs] · [Blog][blog] · [Feedback][github issues link] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][docker release shield]][docker release link] [![][vercel shield]][vercel link] [![][discord shield]][discord link] [![][codecov shield]][codecov link] [![][github action test shield]][github action test link] [![][github action…
read the full LobeChat overview →
About Gemini-API
Gemini API A reverse engineered asynchronous Python wrapper for the Google Gemini web app (formerly Bard). Features Persistent Cookies Automatically refreshes cookies in background. Optimized for always on services. Image Generation Natively supports generating and editing images with natural language. Video & Audio Generation Supports generating videos and audio/music content natively. Deep Research Full deep research workflow with plan creation, status polling, and result retrieval. System Prompt Supports customizing the model's system prompt with Gemini Gems. Extension Support Supports generating content with…
read the full Gemini-API overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LobeChat or Gemini-API more popular?
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars and Gemini-API has 3,781. LobeChat has the larger community by that measure.
Are LobeChat and Gemini-API free?
Both are open source. LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry, and Gemini-API is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LobeChat and Gemini-API?
LobeChat is written in TypeScript and Gemini-API 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, LobeChat or Gemini-API?
Choose LobeChat if you want the larger community (83,716 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Gemini-API if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.