What is Zola?
Web chat app for GPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral and local Ollama models, with your own API keys.
Who is Zola best for?
Zola is best for developers and small teams who want one self-hosted chat window for GPT, Claude, Gemini and local models.
Switching between models
One interface covers OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, Gemini, Grok and DeepSeek models, plus anything on OpenRouter.
Local models
With Ollama running, Zola finds your local models on its own, and a Docker Compose file starts both together.
Bring your own keys
Locked models open once you add your own provider or OpenRouter key in Settings, so you pay the provider directly.
A base for your own chat app
It is built on Next.js, the Vercel AI SDK, shadcn/ui and prompt-kit, so teams can fork it as the start of their own assistant.
How much does Zola cost?
Zola is free and open source under Apache 2.0; the hosted zola.chat is free for its open models, and other models need your own API key.
- Apache 2.0, every feature
- Needs Node.js 18+ and Supabase for accounts
- Pay providers through your own keys
- Free models with no key
- Other models through your own API key
- Daily file upload limit
Zola has no paid plan. Use of any model outside the free set is billed by that provider or by OpenRouter through your own key. The maker calls Zola a beta release. Full pricing on github.com. We checked these prices on .
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Is Zola open source?
Yes. Zola's code is public under the Apache 2.0 licence, so you can run it on your own server.
On GitHub
1,541stars
+9 (+0.6%) in the last 30 days
- Last commit
- 11 Dec 2025
- Repository age
- 1 years
- Licence
- Apache 2.0
- Self-hosted
- Yes
- Repository
- ibelick/zola
What are the best Zola alternatives?
Zola is an open source alternative to BoltAI, Claude and Poe. Jan, Cherry Studio and Khoj do the same job and are open source too.
BoltAIFreemium300 models in one native Mac app.
ClaudeFreeAnthropic's assistant and the Claude models, Fable 5.1 included.
PoeFreeEvery major model and thousands of custom bots in one app.
JanOpen SourceDesktop app that runs open AI models offline on your computer or connects to cloud model APIs.
Cherry StudioOpen SourceDesktop AI workspace that chats with many models, runs agents and searches your own documents.
KhojOpen SourcePersonal AI that answers from your notes, PDFs and the web, with any local or online model.
Questions about Zola
What is Zola?
Web chat app for GPT, Claude, Gemini, Mistral and local Ollama models, with your own API keys.
Who is Zola for?
Zola is best for developers and small teams who want one self-hosted chat window for GPT, Claude, Gemini and local models.
Is Zola free?
Yes. Zola has a free Self-hosted plan: apache 2.0, every feature.
Is Zola open source?
Yes. Zola's code is public under the Apache 2.0 licence, so you can run it on your own server.
What are the best Zola alternatives?
The closest alternatives on Recaply are BoltAI, Claude, Poe, Jan, Cherry Studio and Khoj.
Where can I try Zola?
On its official website, zola.chat.
Does Zola run local models?
Yes. Zola detects models served by Ollama on your machine, and the repository includes a Docker Compose file that starts Zola and Ollama together, so chats with local models need no API key.
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