Compare Claude alternatives
| Tool | Stars | Forks | License | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Open WebUI | 139.6K | 20K | BSD-3-Clause | Yes |
 LobeChat | 78.1K | 15.4K | Apache-2.0 | Yes |
 AnythingLLM | 60.9K | 6.6K | MIT | Yes |
 Cherry Studio | 46.7K | 4.4K | AGPL-3.0 | Yes |
Claude is Anthropic's proprietary AI assistant, accessed through Anthropic's own apps and API. It's a closed-source model — you can't self-host it or see how it's built, and usage is billed through Anthropic directly.
Claude itself isn't open source, but you can run open-source chat interfaces that connect to Claude's API (or to local, open-weight models instead) if you want more control over your data and interface. Open WebUI and LobeChat are full-featured self-hosted chat front ends with multi-model support. AnythingLLM is the better pick if your priority is chatting with your own documents privately, and Cherry Studio is a good option if you want a native desktop app instead of a self-hosted web service.
FAQ
Is there a free, open-source alternative to Claude?
The Claude model itself is proprietary, but open-source chat interfaces like Open WebUI, LobeChat, and AnythingLLM let you self-host a similar chat experience, either connecting to Claude's API or to fully open, locally-run models.
What's the best open-source alternative to Claude?
Open WebUI is the most full-featured self-hosted chat interface. AnythingLLM is the better pick if you mainly want to chat with your own documents privately.
Can I run an AI assistant fully locally instead of using Claude's cloud service?
Yes. Open WebUI, AnythingLLM, and Cherry Studio can all run entirely on your own hardware with local, open-weight models, keeping your data off any vendor's servers.
What are the top open-source alternatives to Claude?
Browse all open-source alternatives to Claude above, or explore the full Local AI category for more options.