# AnythingLLM vs Jan: open-source tools for one person, or a team?

> Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, while AnythingLLM and Jan are personal tools for one machine. AnythingLLM chats with your documents; Jan is a desktop app for local models. A team needs shared agents and a review step, which is the job Kortix takes on.

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

## AnythingLLM, Jan and Kortix, by who they serve

Two personal apps for one machine, and one system a team shares.

| | Kortix (recommended) | AnythingLLM | Jan |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it. | Yes | Yes |
| What it is | The open-source AI Operating System | A workspace that chats with your documents | A desktop app for local models |
| Who it is for | A team's agents doing finished work | One person, or a self-hosted team | One person at one desk |
| Where it runs | Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem | Your desktop, or a Docker instance | Your desktop |
| Documents and memory | Company memory in a git repo | Documents ingested into a workspace | Context that carries over in the app |
| Agents and connectors | 3,000+ apps in a click | Agents in the workspace, plus MCP | MCP connectors, a local API server |
| Sharing across a team | Roles, groups, and an audit trail | Multi-user on the Docker version | Single-user desktop app |

## What Jan is

Jan is a desktop app for running and chatting with models on your own computer. Its documentation covers a desktop client for chat, models, MCP connectors and a local API server, plus a separate agent that runs against a local model. The project describes itself as open source and built in public. Start at [jan.ai](https://jan.ai/) and the [Jan docs](https://jan.ai/docs).

## What AnythingLLM is

AnythingLLM is an app for chatting with your documents. You connect a local or cloud model, ingest files, and ask questions against them with source citations. It runs as a desktop app for one person, or as a Docker instance that supports multiple people with permissions. The project page also lists a browser extension and a mobile app. Start at the [AnythingLLM project](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm) and its [documentation](https://docs.anythingllm.com/).

## Where a desktop app stops

Both tools are personal. They run on one machine, under one person's account, and the files and history stay there. That is the right shape for one person with one set of notes. When several people need the same assistants and the same rules, the setup has to live somewhere everyone can reach and someone can review. At that point the question becomes where the configuration lives.

## What a team adds with Kortix

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. The configuration is a file a team can read, review and diff:

```yaml
# kortix.yaml
agents:
  support-triage:
    file: agents/support-triage.md   # what it does, in plain markdown
    connectors: all                  # what it may reach
```

Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work. 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. Any model provider with your own keys. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free. The code is at [Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna).

For the direct pairings, see [AnythingLLM vs LM Studio](/anythingllm-vs-lm-studio) and [Kortix vs AnythingLLM](/kortix-vs-anythingllm).

## Questions about personal AI tools and team setups

### Are Jan and AnythingLLM open source?

Yes, both are. Jan says it is open source and built in public, and AnythingLLM's own project page states it too.

### Can Jan use a cloud model, or only local ones?

Either. Jan lets you choose from open models or plug in online models, and its docs list MCP connectors and a local API server.

### Does AnythingLLM work for more than one person?

Yes, on the Docker version, which supports multiple people with permissioning. The desktop app is built for one person.

### Can a whole team share one Kortix project?

Yes. Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail.

## Give the whole team the same agents.

One repo, reviewed like code.

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

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