NextChat vs Hollama
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted ai chat uis options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | NextChat | Hollama |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 45 · Fair |
| Category | AI Chat UIs | AI Chat UIs |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, one-click | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 88,805 | ★ 1,185 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | ChatGPT | ChatGPT |
What are NextChat and Hollama?
NextChat
NextChat, formerly ChatGPT-Next-Web, is a lightweight and fast AI assistant supporting web, desktop, and mobile. It works with multiple model providers and can be deployed in seconds to platforms like Vercel or Docker.
- One-click deploy
- Cross-platform apps
- Prompt templates
- Multi-provider support
Hollama
Hollama is a minimal, fast web interface for chatting with Ollama and OpenAI-compatible models. It stores everything in the browser and requires no server-side database.
- Minimal interface
- Browser-side storage
- No database required
- Ollama and OpenAI support
NextChat vs Hollama: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Hollama is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for NextChat. NextChat has the considerably larger community, at 88,805 GitHub stars versus 1,185.
Why pick each one
Choose NextChat if…
- Very lightweight
- One-click Vercel deploy
- Desktop and mobile builds
Watch out for
- Provider API keys required
- Single-user focused
Choose Hollama if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is NextChat or Hollama better?
Neither is universally better. NextChat has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are NextChat and Hollama free and open-source?
Yes. NextChat is licensed under MIT and Hollama under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NextChat and Hollama with Docker?
NextChat: yes. Hollama: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, NextChat or Hollama?
Hollama has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for NextChat. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.