Key Takeaways
- All five apps are chat interfaces, not model runtimes -- they connect to Ollama, LM Studio, or a cloud API you supply a key for.
- LobeChat (82,000+ GitHub stars): the most feature-complete UI with a plugin marketplace and agent builder, but its license is the LobeHub Community License, not plain MIT -- self-hosting and personal/internal commercial use is free; distributing a derivative product requires a commercial license.
- Big-AGI (7,100+ stars, MIT): connects to 20+ model providers and can query several models at once with its Beam feature to compare answers side by side.
- NextChat (88,700+ stars, MIT): the lightest of the five, with a one-click Vercel deploy button and roughly a 100 KB initial page load.
- Page Assist (8,200+ stars, MIT): not a standalone app -- a Chrome/Firefox/Edge browser extension that adds a sidebar chat panel wired to a local Ollama or OpenAI-compatible server.
- Chatbox (41,600+ stars, GPLv3 core): the only one of the five with a commercial hosted plan (from $3.99/month) and native desktop/mobile apps on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
π In One Sentence
LobeChat offers the most polished UI and plugin ecosystem, Big-AGI compares multiple models side by side, NextChat is the lightest and easiest to self-host, Page Assist turns any browser into a local-model sidebar, and Chatbox is the only one of the five with paid hosted plans and native apps on every major platform.
π¬ In Plain Terms
These five apps are all "frontends" -- the chat window you type into. None of them run an AI model themselves; they connect to a model somewhere else, either a local server like Ollama or LM Studio, or a cloud API you provide a key for.
LobeChat vs Big-AGI vs NextChat vs Page Assist vs Chatbox
| App | GitHub Stars | License | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LobeChat | 82,000+ | LobeHub Community (Apache-based) | Web, self-host (Docker/Vercel) | Free / Cloud from $9.9mo |
| Big-AGI | 7,100+ | MIT | Web, self-host (Docker/Vercel) | Free / Pro $10.99mo |
| NextChat | 88,700+ | MIT | Web, Win/Mac/Linux, iOS, Android | Free / Enterprise on request |
| Page Assist | 8,200+ | MIT | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave | Free |
| Chatbox | 41,600+ | GPLv3 (core) | Win/Mac/Linux, iOS, Android, web | Free / Lite $3.99mo+ |
LobeChat: Polished UI with a Plugin Marketplace
LobeChat is a self-hostable chat interface with 82,000+ GitHub stars, an agent/persona builder, and a marketplace of connectable tools and plugins. It runs as a Docker container or deploys to Vercel, Zeabur, or Alibaba Cloud, and connects to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including a local Ollama or LM Studio server.
Key features:
- Agent builder: create named personas with their own system prompt, model, and tool access.
- Plugin marketplace: connect the chat to external tools (search, code execution, image generation) from a browsable catalog.
- Multi-user workspace: shared conversation history and organization when self-hosted for a team.
- Theming: dark mode, custom branding, and a design system that reads as more polished than most open-source chat UIs.
License is the important caveat. LobeChat is not plain MIT -- it ships under the LobeHub Community License, an Apache 2.0-based license with one added condition: you can self-host it and use it commercially as-is for free, but distributing a modified/derivative version of the product requires a commercial license from LobeHub (contact hello@lobehub.com). For a team that just wants to run the chat UI internally, this distinction rarely matters. It matters if you plan to fork LobeChat and resell a modified version.
LobeHub Cloud is the company's hosted version for people who do not want to self-host: a Starter plan at $9.9/month (5,000,000 credits) and a Premium plan at $19.9/month (15,000,000 credits). We found no evidence of an affiliate or referral program for LobeHub Cloud as of September 2026.
# Run LobeChat with Docker
docker run -d -p 3210:3210 \
-e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxx \
--name lobe-chat lobehub/lobe-chat
# Then open http://localhost:3210
# To point it at a local Ollama server instead of a cloud API,
# set the OpenAI-compatible base URL in Settings -> Language Modelβ’π Key Point: The LobeHub Community License is not MIT. Self-hosting and internal commercial use are free; distributing a derivative product is not. Read the license text before building a resellable product on top of LobeChat.
Big-AGI: Multi-Provider Chat with Model Comparison
Big-AGI is an MIT-licensed chat interface with 7,100+ GitHub stars that connects to 20+ model providers and can query several models on the same prompt at once through a feature called Beam. It targets developers and power users who compare model output rather than committing to one provider.
Key features:
- Beam: send one prompt to multiple models simultaneously and compare the answers side by side.
- 20+ providers, 500+ models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (including local Ollama or LM Studio).
- Personas: pre-configured system prompts for different tasks (coding, writing, research).
- Extras: text-to-image generation, voice transcription and synthesis, web search with citations, and PDF import.
Big-AGI is free to self-host (Docker or Vercel) using your own API keys, with no usage charges from Big-AGI itself. Big-AGI Pro is an optional $10.99/month subscription for device sync and 1 GB of cloud storage -- the maintainers describe it as funding ongoing development rather than a feature-gated tier, since the core chat features remain free either way. We found no evidence of an affiliate program for Big-AGI Pro.
β’π‘ Pro Tip: Use Beam when you want to sanity-check a local model against a cloud model on the same prompt -- point one Beam slot at your Ollama server and another at a hosted API to see the difference side by side.
NextChat: The Lightweight, One-Click-Deploy Option
NextChat (formerly ChatGPT-Next-Web) is an MIT-licensed chat interface with 88,700+ GitHub stars -- the most starred of the five apps in this guide -- built around a small initial download (roughly 100 KB) and a genuine one-click Vercel deploy button. It supports OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and DeepSeek out of the box, plus any OpenAI-compatible endpoint for a local Ollama or LM Studio server.
Key features:
- One-click Vercel deploy: click the deploy button in the README, enter an API key, and the app is live on your own Vercel URL in under two minutes -- no Docker or server required.
- Cross-platform: web app plus native builds for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
- Local-first storage: conversation history is kept in the browser by default; nothing is stored on a NextChat-operated server.
- PWA support: install the web app to your home screen like a native app.
NextChat is free and open source for self-hosted use. An Enterprise Edition is available on request (business@nextchat.club) for organizations that want brand customization, permission controls, a shared knowledge base, and private deployment support -- pricing is not published and requires contacting the team. We found no evidence of a self-serve paid consumer tier or an affiliate program.
β’β οΈ Warning: The default deploy stores your API key in Vercel environment variables on your own account -- NextChat itself does not see or bill your usage. Anyone who can access your deployed URL and has no password set can spend against your API key, so set an access code in the deploy settings.
Page Assist: A Browser Sidebar for Local Models
Page Assist is an MIT-licensed browser extension with 8,200+ GitHub stars that adds a sidebar and a full chat web UI to Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, LibreWolf, and Zen Browser, built specifically to talk to a local model. Unlike the other four apps in this guide, it is not a standalone web app or desktop program -- it lives inside your browser.
Key features:
- Sidebar chat: open a chat panel from the toolbar or a keyboard shortcut on any webpage, without switching tabs.
- Page-aware chat: ask the model questions about the content of the page you are currently viewing.
- Local-first backends: built around Ollama, with support for any OpenAI-compatible API (LM Studio, llamafile) and Chrome's built-in on-device model (Gemini Nano).
- Full web UI mode: a separate ChatGPT-style tab for longer conversations, in addition to the sidebar.
Opera and Arc are supported for the web UI only, not the sidebar. Page Assist has no commercial tier or account system -- it is funded through Ko-fi donations and GitHub Sponsors, with Atlas Cloud (a hosted multi-model API provider) as a listed sponsor. We found no evidence of an affiliate program.
β’π Key Point: Page Assist is the only app in this guide with zero cloud dependency by default -- point it at a local Ollama server and no request ever leaves your machine, even for the extension itself.
Chatbox: Cross-Platform Client with Paid Plans
Chatbox has a GPLv3-licensed open-source core with 41,600+ GitHub stars and native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and web -- the widest platform coverage of the five apps in this guide. The free Chatbox app supports every core feature using your own API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or a local Ollama/LM Studio server.
Key features:
- True cross-platform native apps: not just a web wrapper -- separate builds for desktop and mobile with local settings sync.
- Local model support: connect to Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible local server the same way as a cloud provider.
- Image chat and AI drawing: multimodal input and image generation in supported plans.
- Document chat: upload files and query them, on paid plans.
Chatbox is also a commercial product: Chatbox AI, the company's hosted service, sells API access and extra features on top of the free app. Plans as of September 2026: Lite at $3.99/month (2,000,000 compute points, web search, image chat), Pro at $19.99/month (12,000,000 compute points, document chat, MCP integration), and Pro+ at $39.99/month (30,000,000 compute points, largest quota). Compute points consume at different rates depending on which model you select.
Chatbox is the only one of the five apps in this guide with a confirmed, live affiliate program.
β’π Key Point: You do not need a paid Chatbox AI plan to use local models. Bring your own Ollama or LM Studio server and the free Chatbox app works fully offline with no subscription.
Which One Should You Choose?
Match the app to what you actually need -- a plugin ecosystem, multi-model comparison, the fastest deploy, in-browser convenience, or cross-platform native apps with a paid plan you can hand to a non-technical family member.
- Choose LobeChat if: you want the most polished, feature-rich UI and are comfortable self-hosting or paying for LobeHub Cloud. Check the license before building a resellable product on top of it.
- Choose Big-AGI if: you regularly compare answers from multiple models on the same prompt and want that built into the interface rather than switching tabs.
- Choose NextChat if: you want the fastest possible self-hosted setup -- one Vercel click and an API key -- and do not need a plugin marketplace.
- Choose Page Assist if: you want a local-model chat that lives in your browser sidebar and can read the page you are looking at, with zero desktop install.
- Choose Chatbox if: you want one app that works the same way on your phone, laptop, and desktop, with the option to pay for a hosted plan instead of managing your own API keys.
β’π‘ Pro Tip: All five apps can point at the same local Ollama server. Try two or three of them against the same model before committing -- switching frontends does not require re-downloading any model.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LobeChat free to use?
Yes, for self-hosting. LobeChat is free to run yourself under the LobeHub Community License, including commercial use as-is. The license only requires a paid commercial license if you distribute a modified derivative product. LobeHub also sells a hosted LobeHub Cloud plan starting at $9.9/month for people who do not want to self-host.
Does Big-AGI require a subscription?
No. Big-AGI is MIT-licensed and free to self-host with your own API keys. Big-AGI Pro ($10.99/month) is an optional add-on for device sync and cloud storage, not a requirement to use the app.
Can I deploy NextChat without any server management?
Yes. NextChat has a one-click Vercel deploy button in its GitHub README -- add an API key as an environment variable and the app is live on a Vercel URL within a couple of minutes, with no Docker container or server to maintain.
Does Page Assist work without an internet connection?
Yes, if you connect it to a local Ollama server or Chrome's built-in on-device model. Page Assist itself makes no calls to any Page Assist-operated server -- it only talks to whichever backend (local or cloud) you configure.
What is the difference between the free Chatbox app and Chatbox AI?
The free Chatbox app is the open-source GPLv3 client -- you supply your own API keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, etc.) at no cost. Chatbox AI is the company's hosted service layered on top, selling API access and extra features (web search, document chat) through paid Lite, Pro, and Pro+ plans instead of requiring your own keys.
Which of these five apps works fully offline?
All five can be configured to talk only to a local model server (Ollama, LM Studio) with no cloud dependency, since all support OpenAI-compatible local endpoints. Page Assist and NextChat store conversation history locally by default; LobeChat, Big-AGI, and Chatbox depend on how you deploy them.
Do any of these apps come from the same company?
No. LobeChat is built by LobeHub, Big-AGI by an independent open-source maintainer (Enrico Ros), NextChat by the ChatGPTNextWeb community project, Page Assist by an independent developer, and Chatbox by its own team. They are five separate, unrelated projects.
Which app has the most GitHub stars?
NextChat, with 88,700+ stars, followed by LobeChat at 82,000+, Chatbox at 41,600+, Page Assist at 8,200+, and Big-AGI at 7,100+, as of September 2026. Star count reflects popularity and history, not necessarily current feature depth or maintenance activity.
Sources
- LobeHub Contributors. (2026). "LobeChat GitHub Repository." -- Source code, license text, and deployment documentation.
- Enrico Ros. (2026). "Big-AGI GitHub Repository." -- Source code and feature documentation, MIT license.
- ChatGPTNextWeb Contributors. (2026). "NextChat GitHub Repository." -- Source code, MIT license, and Vercel deploy instructions.
- n4ze3m. (2026). "Page Assist GitHub Repository." -- Source code, MIT license, and browser-extension setup guide.
- Chatbox. (2026). "Chatbox AI Official Site." -- Pricing plans, platform downloads, and product documentation.