--- title: "paperless-ai vs FastChat" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/clusterzx-paperless-ai-vs-lm-sys-fastchat" tools: ["clusterzx-paperless-ai", "lm-sys-fastchat"] --- # paperless-ai vs FastChat *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick paperless-ai when paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; FastChat is Python; pick FastChat when fastChat is primarily Python; paperless-ai is JavaScript. [paperless-ai](https://clusterzx.github.io/paperless-ai/) reports 5.8k GitHub stars, 318 forks, and 56 open issues, last pushed Jul 5, 2026. [FastChat](https://github.com/lm-sys/FastChat) has 39k stars, 4.8k forks, and 1.0k open issues, last pushed May 1, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [paperless-ai's repository](https://github.com/clusterzx/paperless-ai) and [FastChat's repository](https://github.com/lm-sys/FastChat). | | [paperless-ai](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai.md) | [FastChat](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An automated document analyzer for Paperless-ngx using OpenAI API, Ollama, Deepseek-r1, Azure and all OpenAI API compatible Services to automatically analyze and tag your documents. | An open platform for training, serving, and evaluating large language models | | Stars | 5,819 | 39,494 | | Forks | 318 | 4,786 | | Open issues | 56 | 1,027 | | Language | JavaScript | Python | | Adopt for | - | FastChat is a comprehensive open platform for managing large language models (LLMs) that includes capabilities for training, serving, evaluating, and comparing chatbot models via web UIs and RESTful APIs. It powers ChatB | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MIT | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Inference & Serving | Evaluation & Observability, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [paperless-ai](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai.md) | [FastChat](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Steady (60%) | | Days since push | 10d | 74d | | Open issues (now) | 56 | 1.0k | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: FastChat - **Adopt for:** FastChat is a comprehensive open platform for managing large language models (LLMs) that includes capabilities for training, serving, evaluating, and comparing chatbot models via web UIs and RESTful APIs. It powers ChatB ## Choose when ### Choose paperless-ai if… - paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; FastChat is Python. - License: paperless-ai is MIT, FastChat is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to paperless-ai: ai, automation, gemma, llama. ### Choose FastChat if… - FastChat is primarily Python; paperless-ai is JavaScript. - License: FastChat is Apache-2.0, paperless-ai is MIT. - Tags unique to FastChat: chatbots, distributed-serving, evaluation system, large-language-models. - Also covers Evaluation & Observability, LLM Frameworks, Model Training. - - You are looking to train and evaluate state-of-the-art models such as Vicuna or MT-Bench. ## When NOT to use paperless-ai - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ## When NOT to use FastChat - - You require a proprietary or closed-source framework; FastChat is open-source under Apache-2.0 license and its use might be unsuitable for environments requiring proprietary solutions. - - Your chatbot evaluation needs do not align with the types of data used in FastChat's datasets (e.g., human votes, MT-Bench evaluations). - - You prefer a more user-friendly setup without the need to clone a repository and manually install dependencies; FastChat requires installation from source with additional steps for Rust and CMake on - + Mac. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between paperless-ai and FastChat? paperless-ai: An automated document analyzer for Paperless-ngx using OpenAI API, Ollama, Deepseek-r1, Azure and all OpenAI API compatible Services to automatically analyze and tag your documents.. FastChat: An open platform for training, serving, and evaluating large language models. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose paperless-ai over FastChat? Choose paperless-ai over FastChat when paperless-ai is primarily JavaScript; FastChat is Python; License: paperless-ai is MIT, FastChat is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to paperless-ai: ai, automation, gemma, llama. ### When should I choose FastChat over paperless-ai? Choose FastChat over paperless-ai when FastChat is primarily Python; paperless-ai is JavaScript; License: FastChat is Apache-2.0, paperless-ai is MIT; Tags unique to FastChat: chatbots, distributed-serving, evaluation system, large-language-models; Also covers Evaluation & Observability, LLM Frameworks, Model Training; - You are looking to train and evaluate state-of-the-art models such as Vicuna or MT-Bench. ### When should I avoid paperless-ai? Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. ### When should I avoid FastChat? - You require a proprietary or closed-source framework; FastChat is open-source under Apache-2.0 license and its use might be unsuitable for environments requiring proprietary solutions. - Your chatbot evaluation needs do not align with the types of data used in FastChat's datasets (e.g., human votes, MT-Bench evaluations). - You prefer a more user-friendly setup without the need to clone a repository and manually install dependencies; FastChat requires installation from source with additional steps for Rust and CMake on + Mac. ### Is paperless-ai or FastChat more popular on GitHub? FastChat has more GitHub stars (39,494 vs 5,819). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are paperless-ai and FastChat open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (paperless-ai: MIT, FastChat: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to paperless-ai or FastChat? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [paperless-ai alternatives](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/alternatives) and [FastChat alternatives](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/alternatives) ([paperless-ai markdown twin](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/alternatives.md), [FastChat markdown twin](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/clusterzx-paperless-ai-vs-lm-sys-fastchat.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, paperless-ai or FastChat? paperless-ai: Active. FastChat: Steady. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for paperless-ai and FastChat? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [paperless-ai trust report](/tools/clusterzx-paperless-ai/trust); [FastChat trust report](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=clusterzx-paperless-ai`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=clusterzx-paperless-ai) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_