Comparison
surf vs jan
Verdict
Pick surf when license: surf is Apache-2.0, jan is Other; pick jan when license: jan is Other, surf is Apache-2.0.
Markdown twin · surf alternatives · jan alternatives
GraphCanon updated today
Trust & integrity
| Signal | surf | jan |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (6d since push) As of today · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of today · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of today · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 4d · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- surf
- Personal AI Notebooks. Organize files & webpages and generate notes from them. Open source, local & open data, open model choice (incl. local).
- jan
- open source alternative to ChatGPT that runs offline locally
Stars
- surf
- 3.5k
- jan
- 43k
Forks
- surf
- 255
- jan
- 2.9k
Open issues
- surf
- 32
- jan
- 387
Language
- surf
- TypeScript
- jan
- TypeScript
Adopt for
- surf
- -
- jan
- Jan is a TypeScript-based, self-hosted chatbot application that acts as an offline alternative to services like ChatGPT.
Persona
- surf
- -
- jan
- -
Runtime
- surf
- -
- jan
- -
License
- surf
- Apache-2.0
- jan
- Other
Last pushed
- surf
- Jul 8, 2026
- jan
- Jul 10, 2026
Categories
- surf
- Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks
- jan
- Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks
Trust and health
Days since push
- surf
- 6d
- jan
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- surf
- 32
- jan
- 387
Full report
- surf
- Trust report
- jan
- Trust report
Choose surf if…
- License: surf is Apache-2.0, jan is Other.
- Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base.
- Leaner open-issue backlog (32).
When NOT to use surf
- Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic.
- LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves.
Choose jan if…
- License: jan is Other, surf is Apache-2.0.
- Tags unique to jan: chatgpt, gpt, llamacpp, localai.
- - If you require an offline-capable AI assistant for environments without internet access.
When NOT to use jan
- - If you require real-time updates to the AI model, since Jan uses static local models which may not get frequent updates.
- - When a vast knowledge base or continuous learning capabilities are essential, as Jan's offline nature constrains its ability to stay current with new information.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (deta/surf) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub forks (deta/surf) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Last push (deta/surf) · observed Jul 8, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (janhq/jan) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub forks (janhq/jan) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Last push (janhq/jan) · observed Jul 10, 2026
- License file (Other) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: surf 3.5k · jan 43k (synced Jul 15, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between surf and jan?
- surf: Personal AI Notebooks. Organize files & webpages and generate notes from them. Open source, local & open data, open model choice (incl. local).. jan: open source alternative to ChatGPT that runs offline locally. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose surf over jan?
- Choose surf over jan when License: surf is Apache-2.0, jan is Other; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Leaner open-issue backlog (32).
- When should I choose jan over surf?
- Choose jan over surf when License: jan is Other, surf is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to jan: chatgpt, gpt, llamacpp, localai; - If you require an offline-capable AI assistant for environments without internet access.
- When should I avoid surf?
- Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves.
- When should I avoid jan?
- - If you require real-time updates to the AI model, since Jan uses static local models which may not get frequent updates. - When a vast knowledge base or continuous learning capabilities are essential, as Jan's offline nature constrains its ability to stay current with new information.
- Is surf or jan more popular on GitHub?
- jan has more GitHub stars (43,499 vs 3,476). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are surf and jan open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, jan: Other).
- Where can I find alternatives to surf or jan?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at surf alternatives and jan alternatives (surf markdown twin, jan markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, surf or jan?
- surf: Very active. jan: Very active. 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 surf and jan?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: surf trust report; jan trust report.