Langchain-Chatchat vs PrivateGPT
Short answer
Langchain-Chatchat: Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. PrivateGPT: API-first private document Q&A that sits on top of your own LLM server. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose PrivateGPT if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale).
Langchain-Chatchat and PrivateGPT publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Langchain-Chatchat vs PrivateGPT side by side
| Langchain-Chatchat | PrivateGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. | API-first private document Q&A that sits on top of your own LLM server. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. |
| Status | Stale (no commit in 180+ days) | Active |
| GitHub stars | 38.7k | 57.6k |
| Last commit | Nov 10, 2025 | Oct 29, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.3.1 | v1.0.1 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required by the app itself. Since 0.3.0 hardware depends on the model server you connect; the docs say it can run on CPU, GPU, NPU or MPS. The Docker Compose guide pairs it with Xinference and assumes the NVIDIA Container Toolkit. | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) | uv (Python) or Docker |
| Known gotchas | 5 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only (LDAP paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| RBAC | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| Details | Full Langchain-Chatchat guide → | Full PrivateGPT guide → |
Key differences
- GPU: Langchain-Chatchat: optional / see notes. PrivateGPT: not required or not stated.
- Deploy: Langchain-Chatchat: pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) · multi-container stack. PrivateGPT: uv (Python) or Docker · uv (Python) or Docker.
- Status: Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days). PrivateGPT: Active.
- GitHub stars: Langchain-Chatchat: 38.7k. PrivateGPT: 57.6k.
- Last commit: Langchain-Chatchat: Nov 10, 2025. PrivateGPT: Oct 29, 2026.
- Latest release: Langchain-Chatchat: v0.3.1 (Jul 12, 2024). PrivateGPT: v1.0.1 (Jun 18, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; License: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); Official hardware: not published; Est. server cost: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
Langchain-Chatchat vs PrivateGPT: FAQ
Langchain-Chatchat or PrivateGPT: which should a small business choose?
Choose PrivateGPT if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale). Langchain-Chatchat and PrivateGPT publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Langchain-Chatchat or PrivateGPT?
Langchain-Chatchat: not estimated (no official RAM figure). PrivateGPT: not estimated (no official RAM figure). 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 Langchain-Chatchat and PrivateGPT need?
Langchain-Chatchat: not published. PrivateGPT: not published.
What is the license difference between Langchain-Chatchat and PrivateGPT?
Langchain-Chatchat: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. PrivateGPT: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Langchain-Chatchat or PrivateGPT more actively maintained?
Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days), last commit Nov 10, 2025. PrivateGPT: Active, last commit Oct 29, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 31, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Langchain-Chatchat or PrivateGPT?
Langchain-Chatchat installs via pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) (multi-container stack); PrivateGPT via uv (Python) or Docker (uv (Python) or Docker). Langchain-Chatchat lists 5 known gotchas and PrivateGPT lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- Langchain-Chatchat self-hosting guide · PrivateGPT self-hosting guide
- All Langchain-Chatchat alternatives, ranked
- All PrivateGPT alternatives, ranked
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- AFFiNE vs PrivateGPT
- AnythingLLM vs Langchain-Chatchat
- AnythingLLM vs PrivateGPT
- DocsGPT vs Langchain-Chatchat
- DocsGPT vs PrivateGPT
- FastGPT vs Langchain-Chatchat
- FastGPT vs PrivateGPT
- kotaemon vs Langchain-Chatchat
- kotaemon vs PrivateGPT
- Langchain-Chatchat vs LightRAG
- Langchain-Chatchat vs MaxKB
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- Langchain-Chatchat GitHub repository: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat
- Langchain-Chatchat documentation: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#readme
- Langchain-Chatchat license: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat/blob/master/LICENSE
- Langchain-Chatchat hardware requirements: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#0-软硬件要求
- Langchain-Chatchat deploy instructions: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#pip-安装部署
- PrivateGPT GitHub repository: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt
- PrivateGPT documentation, PrivateGPT hardware requirements: docs.privategpt.dev/getting-started/quickstart
- PrivateGPT license: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt/blob/main/LICENSE
- PrivateGPT deploy instructions: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt#readme
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): 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.