# AnythingLLM vs LibreChat: two open-source chat front ends for your models

> AnythingLLM and LibreChat are both open-source front ends for your own models, and each puts the chat first. The difference is scope. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System that runs and governs the agents a company owns, from one git repo with reviewed changes.

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

## Kortix, AnythingLLM and LibreChat, side by side.

Rival details come from each project's own site or repository, checked October 2026, and Kortix is the recommendation for a company's agents.

| | Kortix (recommended) | AnythingLLM | LibreChat |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| What it is | Agents, memory and connectors in one git repo | A local-first app for chatting with your documents | A self-hosted chat platform for your models |
| Model support | Any model provider with your own keys | Local or cloud providers you connect | Any provider, or a custom endpoint |
| Self-host | Self-host is free | Yes, desktop or Docker | Yes, a Docker Compose stack |
| Where agents run | Each session on its own cloud computer | Inside the app instance you run | In the chat, or in a code workspace |
| Where settings and memory live | Files in one git repo you own | In the app; memory per workspace | In the database; chats per person |
| Tool and connector rules | Allow, Ask or Block per call, down to arguments | Tools you enable in the app | MCP servers and tools you enable |
| How changes land | Through a change request a person approves | Directly in the app | Directly in the app |

## What AnythingLLM and LibreChat each are

AnythingLLM is an open-source application from Mintplex Labs for chatting with your own documents. It installs as one desktop file on macOS, Windows or Linux, or runs as a multi-user server through Docker, and it connects to local models such as Ollama or LM Studio as well as to cloud APIs ([anythingllm.com](https://anythingllm.com/), [AnythingLLM on GitHub](https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm)). Its memory is scoped to a workspace.

LibreChat is an open-source chat platform that brings many models into one interface. It connects to Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, OpenAI, Azure, Google and Vertex AI, to any OpenAI-compatible custom endpoint, and to local providers such as Ollama. It adds agents, MCP tools, a sandboxed code interpreter and multi-user authentication with an admin panel ([LibreChat](https://www.librechat.ai/), [LibreChat on GitHub](https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat)).

## Both are front ends over your models

AnythingLLM and LibreChat both put a chat surface in front of models you choose, and both are open source. AnythingLLM leans toward private document chat on one machine, while LibreChat leans toward a multi-provider chat platform a team can self-host with roles, agents and tools. The two compete on the same ground: the conversation, the model routing and the retrieval behind an answer.

That ground is a chat surface. It answers questions and returns text, and it keeps its configuration and its memory inside the application itself. When the work is a company's agents taking real actions in its tools, the chat surface shows the result. The part that governs the agents is a separate question.

## Where a company's agents, memory and connector rules should live

Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, and it treats the agents, the memory and the rules about tools as files in one git repo you own, next to a `kortix.yaml` at the project root ([Kortix docs](https://kortix.com/docs)). A project is a git repo, a session runs one agent on its own cloud computer, and a trigger can start a session on a schedule with nobody present.

```diff
- # support inbox triaged by hand every morning
+ triggers:
+   - slug: daily-triage
+     type: cron
+     cron: '0 0 9 * * 1-5'
+     prompt: Triage yesterday's tickets and open a change request.
```

Work reaches `main` only through a change request a person approves, and merge is default-deny for agents, so a person reads the diff before anything lands. Connector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine. The source is public on [Kortix on GitHub](https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna).

## How to choose

Pick AnythingLLM when the job is private document chat and retrieval on your own machine or a Docker host. Pick LibreChat when you want a self-hosted, multi-provider chat platform with agents and tools for a technical team. Pick Kortix when a company has to own and govern the agents themselves: agents that run on their own cloud computers, a shared company memory, connector rules scoped per call, and every change landing as a diff a person approves. The [Kortix vs AnythingLLM comparison](/kortix-vs-anythingllm) shows how a move from AnythingLLM looks, and the [Kortix blog](https://kortix.com/blog/kortix-vs-anythingllm) covers the wider field.

## Questions buyers ask about AnythingLLM and LibreChat.

Short answers on fit, models, where agents live and the review gate.

### Are AnythingLLM and LibreChat free and open source?

Yes. Both are open source, and both are free to self-host. AnythingLLM installs as a desktop app or a Docker server, and LibreChat runs from a Docker Compose stack.

### Which models does LibreChat connect to?

Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, OpenAI, Azure, Google and Vertex AI, any OpenAI-compatible custom endpoint, and local providers such as Ollama and Apple MLX.

### Where do AnythingLLM and LibreChat keep their agents and chats?

In each application's own database. AnythingLLM scopes memory to a workspace, and LibreChat keeps chats and agents per person, with an admin panel for roles.

### Do AnythingLLM and LibreChat have a review gate?

No. Changes happen inside each app. In Kortix, session work reaches `main` through a change request a person approves, and merge is default-deny for agents.

## Govern the agents a company owns, from one repo you own.

Start on Kortix Cloud, self-host for free, or bring your own model and keys.

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

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