# AnythingLLM vs ChatGPT: rent an assistant or run an open-source system?

> ChatGPT is a closed assistant you rent from OpenAI, and AnythingLLM is an open-source app that chats with your documents on your own machine. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System you own, where agents, skills, memory and connectors live in one git repo.

URL: https://anythingllm-alternative.com/anythingllm-vs-chatgpt

## Three layers: a closed assistant, a document app, an owned system

Each rival cell is checked against that company's own site or repository.

| | Kortix (recommended) | AnythingLLM | ChatGPT |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | Yes, built in the open. | No, closed. |
| What it is | AI Operating System you own. | Document chat and agent app. | Hosted assistant you rent. |
| Where it runs | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem. | Your desktop, or self-hosted Docker. | OpenAI's cloud only. |
| Model choice | Any model provider with your own keys. | Local and cloud LLMs. | OpenAI's models only. |
| Your config | Files in a git repo you own. | Chat workspaces inside its own app. | In OpenAI's product. |
| Team controls | Roles, groups, and an audit trail. | Multi-user permissioning on Docker only. | Business and Enterprise plans. |
| Self-host | Self-host is free. | Self-host a multi-user deployment. | No self-host. |

## Three commands to a live system

`terminal`

```sh
$ curl -fsSL https://kortix.com/install | bash
$ kortix init
$ kortix ship
```

Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

One git repo holds the agents, skills, memory and connectors, then ships to your cloud or your own box.

## What each of the three is

ChatGPT is OpenAI's closed hosted assistant. You rent access on its plans, it runs on OpenAI's cloud, and the plans run from a free tier to paid per-seat subscriptions, checked October 2026 ([ChatGPT pricing](https://openai.com/chatgpt/pricing/)). AnythingLLM is an open-source app from Mintplex Labs that runs on your own desktop or as a self-hosted Docker deployment, chats with your documents, and connects to local or cloud models. ([AnythingLLM](https://anythingllm.com), [AnythingLLM on GitHub](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm))

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory, and every connector in one git repo you own, with the agents working on real cloud computers.

## What you own in each layer

With ChatGPT, the model, the memory and the projects all sit inside OpenAI's product, and you keep access for as long as you pay. AnythingLLM keeps the documents and the index on your machine, which is a real step for privacy, and it still holds the agents and their settings inside the app. Kortix keeps the whole configuration as text in one git repo. Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it. Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.

The difference shows when the AI does real work. Kortix runs one isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch. Session work reaches `main` through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine.

## Where a company moves next

A closed assistant is a per-person tool, and what a team teaches it stays with the vendor. A document-chat app keeps the knowledge and leaves the way the company works inside the app. A company that wants agents doing jobs across its tools, with permissions and an audit trail, needs the third layer. Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free.

Two team pages go deeper: [AnythingLLM data privacy](/anythingllm-data-privacy) covers where the documents sit, and [AnythingLLM for teams](/anythingllm-for-teams) covers the team case. For the one-to-one view, read [Kortix vs AnythingLLM](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-anythingllm).

## Which one to pick

ChatGPT fits when you want a finished assistant and no setup to own. Choose AnythingLLM when you want document chat on your own machine without a cloud account. Kortix fits when the AI has to work across the company and the company has to own the agents, the data and the configuration.

## AnythingLLM vs ChatGPT questions

The ownership questions a team asks before it picks.

### Can I keep using the ChatGPT plan I pay for with Kortix?

Yes. Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Kortix connects the subscription you keep paying for alongside other providers.

### Is AnythingLLM a self-hosted ChatGPT?

It is close in shape. AnythingLLM runs document chat and agents on your own machine or a self-hosted Docker deployment, and it can use local or cloud models. It stays a document-chat app, so the agents and their settings live inside it.

### Where does the data sit in each option?

ChatGPT keeps your data in OpenAI's cloud. AnythingLLM keeps the documents and the index on your own machine or server. Kortix keeps the configuration in a git repo you own and can run on your own infrastructure. The [AnythingLLM data privacy](/anythingllm-data-privacy) page covers the detail.

### What does a company system add over a document-chat app?

It adds the parts a team needs to run agents together: per-resource permissions for people and agents, roles, groups, and an audit trail, with each session on an isolated machine and work landing through a change request.

## Own the system your agents run on.

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, with agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own.

[Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Compare with AnythingLLM](https://anythingllm-alternative.com/kortix-vs-anythingllm)

Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem