head to head · open source
LobeChat vs k-dense-byok
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars, 16,033 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. k-dense-byok has 1,421 stars, 189 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. LobeChat leads on adoption by 5,791% (83,716 vs 1,421 stars). LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; k-dense-byok is written in TypeScript under MIT. LobeChat has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, k-dense-byok 13%. LobeChat 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
| LobeChat | k-dense-byok | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 84K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 189 |
| 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 k-dense-byok if
- You want the k-dense-byok feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and k-dense-byok 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 k-dense-byok
K Dense BYOK 🎥 Webinar recording: Getting Started with K Dense BYOK An online walkthrough of installing Kady and running your first research task, with live Q&A. 👉 Watch the recording on YouTube Your own AI research assistant, running on your computer, powered by the accounts and API keys you choose. K Dense BYOK (Bring Your Own Keys) is a free, open source app that gives you Kady — an AI research assistant for scientists in any field. Describe a task in plain language — analyze this dataset , review my manuscript , search the literature , build this figure — and Kady works through it in a complete research…
read the full k-dense-byok overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LobeChat or k-dense-byok more popular?
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars and k-dense-byok has 1,421. LobeChat has the larger community by that measure.
Are LobeChat and k-dense-byok free?
Both are open source. LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry, and k-dense-byok is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LobeChat and k-dense-byok?
LobeChat is written in TypeScript and k-dense-byok 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, LobeChat or k-dense-byok?
Choose LobeChat if you want the larger community (83,716 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose k-dense-byok if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.