--- title: "Medusa vs jan" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/fasterdecoding-medusa-vs-janhq-jan" tools: ["fasterdecoding-medusa", "janhq-jan"] --- # Medusa vs jan *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick Medusa when medusa is primarily Jupyter Notebook; jan is TypeScript; pick jan when jan is primarily TypeScript; Medusa is Jupyter Notebook. [Medusa](https://sites.google.com/view/medusa-llm) reports 2.8k GitHub stars, 204 forks, and 57 open issues, last pushed Jun 25, 2024. [jan](https://jan.ai/) has 43k stars, 2.9k forks, and 387 open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [Medusa's repository](https://github.com/FasterDecoding/Medusa) and [jan's repository](https://github.com/janhq/jan). | | [Medusa](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa.md) | [jan](/tools/janhq-jan.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Medusa: Simple Framework for Accelerating LLM Generation with Multiple Decoding Heads | open source alternative to ChatGPT that runs offline locally | | Stars | 2,755 | 43,499 | | Forks | 204 | 2,896 | | Open issues | 57 | 387 | | Language | Jupyter Notebook | TypeScript | | Adopt for | - | Jan is a TypeScript-based, self-hosted chatbot application that acts as an offline alternative to services like ChatGPT. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Other | | Categories | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [Medusa](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa.md) | [jan](/tools/janhq-jan.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Dormant (18%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 745d | 1d | | Open issues (now) | 57 | 387 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/janhq-jan/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: jan - **Adopt for:** Jan is a TypeScript-based, self-hosted chatbot application that acts as an offline alternative to services like ChatGPT. ## Choose when ### Choose Medusa if… - Medusa is primarily Jupyter Notebook; jan is TypeScript. - License: Medusa is Apache-2.0, jan is Other. - Tags unique to Medusa: jupyter notebook, llm-inference. ### Choose jan if… - jan is primarily TypeScript; Medusa is Jupyter Notebook. - License: jan is Other, Medusa 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 Medusa - Last GitHub push was 746 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jun 25, 2024). Validate activity before betting a new project on Medusa. - 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 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. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between Medusa and jan? Medusa: Medusa: Simple Framework for Accelerating LLM Generation with Multiple Decoding Heads. 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 Medusa over jan? Choose Medusa over jan when Medusa is primarily Jupyter Notebook; jan is TypeScript; License: Medusa is Apache-2.0, jan is Other; Tags unique to Medusa: jupyter notebook, llm-inference. ### When should I choose jan over Medusa? Choose jan over Medusa when jan is primarily TypeScript; Medusa is Jupyter Notebook; License: jan is Other, Medusa 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 Medusa? Last GitHub push was 746 days ago (dormant maintenance, Jun 25, 2024). Validate activity before betting a new project on Medusa. 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 Medusa or jan more popular on GitHub? jan has more GitHub stars (43,499 vs 2,755). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are Medusa and jan open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (Medusa: Apache-2.0, jan: Other). ### Where can I find alternatives to Medusa or jan? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [Medusa alternatives](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa/alternatives) and [jan alternatives](/tools/janhq-jan/alternatives) ([Medusa markdown twin](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa/alternatives.md), [jan markdown twin](/tools/janhq-jan/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/fasterdecoding-medusa-vs-janhq-jan.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, Medusa or jan? Medusa: Dormant. 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 Medusa and jan? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [Medusa trust report](/tools/fasterdecoding-medusa/trust); [jan trust report](/tools/janhq-jan/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=fasterdecoding-medusa`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=fasterdecoding-medusa) - 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/_