head to head · open source
LobeChat vs Zola
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars, 16,033 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zola has 1,538 stars, 297 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 11 months ago. LobeChat leads on adoption by 5,343% (83,716 vs 1,538 stars). LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Zola is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. LobeChat has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, Zola 19%. 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 | Zola | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 84K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2025-12-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 297 |
| 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 Zola if
- You want the Zola feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Zola 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 Zola
Zola zola.chat Zola is the open source chat interface for all your models. Features Multi model support: OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, Ollama (local models) Bring your own API key (BYOK) support via OpenRouter File uploads Clean, responsive UI with light/dark themes Built with Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui, and prompt kit Open source and self hostable Customizable: user system prompt, multiple layout options Local AI with Ollama: Run models locally with automatic model detection Full MCP support (wip) Quick Start Option 1: With OpenAI (Cloud) Option 2: With Ollama (Local) Zola will automatically detect your local…
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Frequently asked questions
Is LobeChat or Zola more popular?
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars and Zola has 1,538. LobeChat has the larger community by that measure.
Are LobeChat and Zola free?
Both are open source. LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry, and Zola is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LobeChat and Zola?
LobeChat is written in TypeScript and Zola 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 Zola?
Choose LobeChat if you want the larger community (83,716 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Zola if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.