head to head · open source
LobeChat vs Kai
LobeChat has 83,687 GitHub stars, 16,028 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kai has 1,330 stars, 211 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. LobeChat leads on adoption by 6,192% (83,687 vs 1,330 stars). LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Kai is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. LobeChat has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, Kai 16%. LobeChat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | Kai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 84K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 211 |
| 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 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 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 Kai
Kai 9000 An open source AI assistant with persistent memory that runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, and Web . Website Documentation Sponsor: Atlas Cloud Installation Homebrew (macOS): AUR (Arch Linux): Winget (Windows): Direct Downloads AI That Builds Screens, Not Just Text Kai 9000's Interactive UI lets the AI generate full interactive screens — quizzes, dashboards, recipes, brainstorms, and more. Navigate by tapping buttons instead of scrolling through chat. Features Persistent memory — Kai remembers important details across conversations and uses them automatically Customizable soul — Define the AI's…
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Frequently asked questions
Is LobeChat or Kai more popular?
LobeChat has 83,687 GitHub stars and Kai has 1,330. LobeChat has the larger community by that measure.
Are LobeChat and Kai free?
Both are open source. LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry, and Kai is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LobeChat and Kai?
LobeChat is written in TypeScript 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, LobeChat or Kai?
Choose LobeChat if you want the larger community (83,687 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Kai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.