Page Assist vs Serge
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted local llm runners options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Page Assist | Serge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Local LLM Runners | Local LLM Runners |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Svelte |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 8,192 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,228 | ★ 5,708 |
| First released | 2024 | 2023 |
| Replaces | ChatGPT | ChatGPT |
What are Page Assist and Serge?
Page Assist
Page Assist is a browser extension that adds a sidebar and web UI for interacting with local AI models. It can chat about the current web page and perform retrieval over its content using Ollama.
- Browser sidebar chat
- Chat with current page
- Local model RAG
- Works offline
Serge
Serge is a self-hosted chat interface for running LLaMA-family models entirely offline. It bundles llama.cpp with a clean web UI and requires no remote APIs or accounts.
- No API keys required
- Bundled llama.cpp
- Simple Docker deploy
- Fully offline
Page Assist vs Serge: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Serge's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Page Assist is actively maintained. Page Assist is written in TypeScript, while Serge is built with Svelte. Licensing differs — MIT for Page Assist versus Apache-2.0 for Serge. Page Assist is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for Serge. Serge lists first-class Docker deployment; Page Assist does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Page Assist if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 8.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Serge if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.7k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Page Assist or Serge better?
Neither is universally better. Page Assist has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Page Assist and Serge free and open-source?
Yes. Page Assist is licensed under MIT and Serge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Page Assist and Serge with Docker?
Page Assist: check the project docs for container support. Serge: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Page Assist or Serge?
Page Assist has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for Serge. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.