PrivateGPT vs SecureAI Tools
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SecureAI Tools
Private AI chat and document analysis you fully control
| Feature | PrivateGPT | SecureAI Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 16 · At risk |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 57,526 | ★ 1,726 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | ChatGPT | ChatGPT |
What are PrivateGPT and SecureAI Tools?
PrivateGPT
PrivateGPT is a production-ready AI project that lets you ask questions about documents using LLMs entirely offline. It provides an API following the OpenAI standard and a Gradio UI for local RAG.
- Fully offline RAG
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Document ingestion
- No data leaves the host
SecureAI Tools
SecureAI Tools is a self-hosted AI productivity suite for chatting with models and analyzing documents privately. It supports both local model backends and remote APIs while keeping your data on your own server.
- Chat with local models
- Document question answering
- Multi-user organizations
- Self-hosted privacy
PrivateGPT vs SecureAI Tools: key differences
PrivateGPT is written in Python, while SecureAI Tools is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for PrivateGPT versus AGPL-3.0 for SecureAI Tools. SecureAI Tools is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 8,192 MB for PrivateGPT. PrivateGPT has the considerably larger community, at 57,526 GitHub stars versus 1,726.
Why pick each one
Choose PrivateGPT if…
- Fully offline capable
- OpenAI-compatible API
- Privacy-focused design
Watch out for
- GPU recommended
- Setup can be fiddly
Choose SecureAI Tools if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is PrivateGPT or SecureAI Tools better?
Neither is universally better. PrivateGPT has the larger community, while SecureAI Tools is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PrivateGPT and SecureAI Tools free and open-source?
Yes. PrivateGPT is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SecureAI Tools under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PrivateGPT and SecureAI Tools with Docker?
PrivateGPT: yes. SecureAI Tools: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PrivateGPT or SecureAI Tools?
SecureAI Tools has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 8,192 MB for PrivateGPT. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.