Cherry Studio vs Jan
Short answer
Cherry Studio: Desktop AI client for cloud and local models with agents, knowledge bases and MCP tools. Jan: Offline desktop ChatGPT alternative that runs models on each employee's computer. Both are in our Private ChatGPT-style chat category.
Choose Jan if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Cherry Studio vs Jan side by side
| Cherry Studio | Jan | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Private ChatGPT-style chat | Private ChatGPT-style chat |
| What it is | Desktop AI client for cloud and local models with agents, knowledge bases and MCP tools. | Offline desktop ChatGPT alternative that runs models on each employee's computer. |
| License | AGPL-3.0 (commercial license available) | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Network copyleft (AGPL) | Permissive |
| License conditions | Free for internal and commercial use under AGPL-3.0. If you modify Cherry Studio and distribute it or let users interact with it over a network, you must offer the modified source under AGPL-3.0. A commercial license exempting you from AGPL terms is sold separately. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 53.0k | 45.1k |
| Last commit | Oct 26, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Latest release | v2.1.7 | v0.8.7 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 8 GB RAM · 10 GB disk |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 16 GB RAM |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | 6 GB VRAM minimum for GPU acceleration |
| Est. server cost | No server (desktop app) | No server (desktop app) |
| Deploy method | Desktop installer | Desktop installer |
| Known gotchas | 3 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | Off by default (opt-in) |
| Calls home by default | Yes, by default | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Paid / enterprise only | Not documented |
| Details | Full Cherry Studio guide → | Full Jan guide → |
Key differences
- License: Cherry Studio: AGPL-3.0 (commercial license available) (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Jan: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Cherry Studio: not published. Jan: minimum 8 GB RAM · 10 GB disk (recommended 16 GB RAM).
- GPU: Cherry Studio: not required or not stated. Jan: optional / see notes.
- GitHub stars: Cherry Studio: 53.0k. Jan: 45.1k.
- Latest release: Cherry Studio: v2.1.7 (Oct 19, 2026). Jan: v0.8.7 (Oct 20, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Private ChatGPT-style chat; Est. server cost: no server (desktop app); Deploy: Desktop installer · desktop installer on each computer; Status: Active; Last commit: Oct 26, 2026.
Cherry Studio vs Jan: FAQ
Cherry Studio or Jan: which should a small business choose?
Choose Jan if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)).
Which is cheaper to self-host, Cherry Studio or Jan?
Cherry Studio: no server (desktop app). Jan: no server (desktop app). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do Cherry Studio and Jan need?
Cherry Studio: not published. Jan: minimum 8 GB RAM · 10 GB disk (recommended 16 GB RAM).
What is the license difference between Cherry Studio and Jan?
Cherry Studio: AGPL-3.0 (commercial license available) (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use under AGPL-3.0. If you modify Cherry Studio and distribute it or let users interact with it over a network, you must offer the modified source under AGPL-3.0. A commercial license exempting you from AGPL terms is sold separately. Jan: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Cherry Studio or Jan more actively maintained?
Cherry Studio: Active, last commit Oct 26, 2026. Jan: Active, last commit Oct 26, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 26, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Cherry Studio or Jan?
Cherry Studio installs via Desktop installer (desktop installer on each computer); Jan via Desktop installer (desktop installer on each computer). Cherry Studio lists 3 known gotchas and Jan lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- Cherry Studio self-hosting guide · Jan self-hosting guide
- All Cherry Studio alternatives, ranked
- All Jan alternatives, ranked
- Cherry Studio vs LibreChat
- Cherry Studio vs LobeHub (LobeChat)
- Cherry Studio vs NextChat
- Cherry Studio vs Open WebUI
- Jan vs LibreChat
- Jan vs llama.cpp
- Jan vs LobeHub (LobeChat)
- Jan vs LocalAI
- Jan vs NextChat
- Jan vs Ollama
- Jan vs Open WebUI
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- Cherry Studio GitHub repository: github.com/CherryHQ/cherry-studio
- Cherry Studio documentation, Cherry Studio hardware requirements, Cherry Studio deploy instructions: cherryai.com/docs/en/cherry-studio/installation/
- Cherry Studio license: github.com/CherryHQ/cherry-studio/blob/main/LICENSE
- Jan GitHub repository: github.com/janhq/jan
- Jan documentation, Jan hardware requirements, Jan deploy instructions: docs.jan.ai/desktop/install/linux
- Jan license: github.com/janhq/jan/blob/main/LICENSE
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-26): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.