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Big-AGI vs Jan

A side-by-side comparison of Big-AGI and Jan, two Assistant tools, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.

Compared from listings verified as of

Big-AGI

Assistant

Multi-model AI workspace with chat, voice, image gen, and tool use — BYO keys.

View Big-AGI

Jan

Assistant

ChatGPT alternative that runs 100% offline on your computer.

View Jan

At a glance

Feature comparison of Big-AGI and Jan
AttributeBig-AGIJan
CategoryAssistantAssistant
Pricing (differs)BYO KEYFREE
LicenseOpen sourceOpen source
Deployment (differs)Self-hostLocal
Platforms (differs)WebmacOS, Windows, Linux, API
Model supportMulti-modelMulti-model
Vendor (differs)Enrico RosMenlo Research

The honest brief

Big-AGI

Its 'beam' runs one prompt across many models side-by-side to compare, with one-click self-host on Vercel or Docker.

  • Beam compares many models at once
  • One-click self-host on Vercel or Docker
  • Connects to local engines (Ollama, LM Studio)
  • Voice, image gen, web search, code exec
  • Bring-your-own API keys required
  • Single-maintainer project
  • No managed hosting or support tier

Jan

Bundles its own model runner so it works offline out of the box — no account, no telemetry, and no paid tier.

  • Local-first; data stays on your machine
  • Open source (Apache-2.0), no paid tier
  • Bundled model runner + model hub
  • BYO cloud keys when wanted
  • Local OpenAI-compatible server
  • More setup friction than LM Studio
  • Limited tool-calling vs full agent stacks
  • Local model speed bound by your hardware
  • Smaller ecosystem than Ollama
Big-AGI detailsJan detailsAll Assistant apps