head to head · open source
odysseus vs Kai
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars, 1,862 forks, 1,233 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kai has 1,329 stars, 210 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. odysseus leads on adoption by 7,043% (94,935 vs 1,329 stars). odysseus is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; Kai is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. odysseus has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, Kai 16%. Kai 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
| odysseus | Kai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 95K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 210 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick odysseus if
- You weight community size — 95K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 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 odysseus
A self hosted AI workspace for chat, agents, research, documents, email, notes, calendar, and local model workflows. Quick Start · Setup Guide · Contributing · Roadmap Quick Start dev is the default branch and gets the newest changes first. Use main if you want the more curated branch. Open when the containers are healthy. The first admin password is printed in docker compose logs odysseus . Native installs, GPU notes, Windows/macOS instructions, HTTPS, and configuration live in the setup guide. Features Chat + Agents — local/API models, tools, MCP, files, shell, skills, and memory. Cookbook — hardware aware…
read the full odysseus 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 odysseus or Kai more popular?
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars and Kai has 1,329. odysseus has the larger community by that measure.
Are odysseus and Kai free?
Both are open source. odysseus is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Kai under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between odysseus and Kai?
odysseus 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, odysseus or Kai?
Choose odysseus if you want the larger community (94,935 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Kai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.