Side by side

Jan vs SillyTavern

Both stand on byok system. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Jan

Free plan APILinuxMac+3

Jan offers a choice between local model use and cloud providers, with a local API and MCP connections. Cloud use follows provider data policies, and Jan Agent depends on a remote model endpoint.

Visit Jan

SillyTavern

Free plan Open source AndroidAPIExtension+5

SillyTavern offers extensive prompt and character-chat controls without charging for the interface. Users considering local inference should note its system requirements and the performance limitation for large character libraries.

Visit SillyTavern

The facts

	Jan	SillyTavern
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	Android, API, Extension, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	2	1
Maker	Jan	Not published
Website	jan.ai	sillytavern.app
On byok system	#5 of 24	#1 of 24

Jan: what it does well

Local models can work offline without an API key.
Local conversations and app data stay on the computer.
Includes a local OpenAI-compatible API server.
Supports MCP connections to tools and data sources.
Desktop builds are available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

What to know first

Cloud model usage is paid directly to providers.
Cloud provider data policies apply when using their services.
Jan Agent requires a remote model provider or configured endpoint.
Jan Agent is a preview.

SillyTavern: what it does well

Free and open source under AGPL-3.0.
Supports local and cloud model backends.
Includes character chats, group chats, and lorebooks.
No hosted service or programmatic user tracking.

What to know first

Requires support for NodeJS 20 or higher.
Cloud providers may log data sent to them.
Performance may degrade above 1,000 characters.
No native mobile apps.

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