AnythingLLM vs Elephas

AnythingLLM

• Chatting with private documents without sending them to a cloud service
• Teams that want a self-hosted, multi-user AI workspace
• Meeting transcripts and summaries produced on the device

Elephas

• Consultants, lawyers and accountants working with client files under NDA
• Building a searchable knowledge base from your own documents and notes
• Mac users who want AI writing help inside every app

AnythingLLM

• The hosted cloud has no built-in LLM and does not support custom agents or MCP; you connect your own model provider.
• Magic Echo, Beacon and Tab have daily free limits. The Pro subscription that removes them is priced on a checkout page that could not be read.
• Magic features and AnythingLLM Pro work on Windows and macOS only, and the mobile app is for Android only.
• Hosted cloud instances have no GPU, and the docs warn that embedding very large documents can crash an instance on the lower tier.

Elephas

• The full app is for Mac only (macOS 13 or later), with a companion app for iPhone and iPad. Windows is on a waitlist.
• The built-in AI runs on monthly credits: 20 on Free, 100 on Standard, 500 on Professional and 1,000 on Pro+. Your own API keys remove the limit.
• Super Brain, integrations and iPhone and iPad access start at Professional, and the full redaction inspector is in Pro+.
• The Mac App Store version lacks Super Command and the text-writing features because of sandbox restrictions.

AnythingLLM

Chat with your documents

Documents you add become part of the assistant's knowledge base. In the desktop app they are processed on the device and no data leaves it.

Local or cloud models

Recommends a local model to suit your hardware and needs no API key, and can also connect cloud providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Agents and custom skills

Agents can search and scrape the web, read, write and search local files, run recurring background jobs and use custom agent skills.

Meeting Assistant

Transcribes and summarizes meetings on your own computer, producing action items, key decisions and a full transcript with no bot joining the call.

Magic Echo, Beacon and Tab

System-wide dictation, questions about highlighted text and autocomplete on Windows and macOS. Each has a daily free allowance that an AnythingLLM Pro subscription removes.

Multi-user deployment

The Docker and hosted cloud versions serve several users on one server with isolated tenants, fine-grained admin controls and white-label branding.

Elephas

Super Brain

Workspaces built from your PDFs, Word and Excel files, notes and transcripts, one per client or project. Files are indexed locally on the Mac and answers cite the source documents.

Sensitive data redaction

Detects and redacts 28 types of sensitive data, such as names, emails, account numbers and passport numbers, on the device before content reaches a cloud model.

Offline mode

Runs AI entirely on the Mac with local models so nothing leaves the device. Built-in cloud AI with zero data retention and your own API keys are the alternatives.

Super Command

One keyboard shortcut brings Elephas into any Mac app to summarize, rewrite, translate or fix the grammar of selected text, or to run custom commands called Snippets.

Built-in AI or your own keys

The built-in engine runs on OpenAI and Anthropic models. You can also add API keys from more than 15 providers, including OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq and DeepSeek, for unlimited usage.

iPhone and iPad access

Professional and Pro+ subscribers can open the Super Brains built on the Mac from an iPhone or iPad signed in to the same Apple account.

AnythingLLM

• Desktop and self-hosted$0

  The desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux with no account, or the multi-user version self-hosted with Docker. Magic features have daily free limits.

• Basic (Cloud)$50

  per month

  A private hosted instance on a custom subdomain for independent use or small teams, with RAG and agents set up. You bring your own LLM API key.

• Pro (Cloud)$99

  per month

  A private hosted instance with priority resources for larger teams and a 72-hour support SLA.

• EnterpriseCustom

  On-premise deployment with a custom SLA, custom integrations, SSO and role-based access control.

Elephas

• Free$0

  20 credits a month for the built-in Elephas AI engine.

• Standard$15.83

  per month on the yearly plan; $19 billed monthly

  100 credits a month: AI chat and writing across the Mac, basic document and note workflows, and automatic protection of sensitive data.

• Professional$32.50

  per month on the yearly plan; $39 billed monthly

  500 credits a month, plus Super Brain, integrations with Apple Notes, Notion and Obsidian, iPhone and iPad access and a basic view of redactions.

• Pro+$40.83

  per month on the yearly plan; $49 billed monthly

  1,000 credits a month, plus the full redaction inspector, advanced redaction settings, optional offline AI workflows and an onboarding call.

AnythingLLM

• Other savings

  Free self-hosting with Docker

  The multi-user version sold as hosted cloud plans from $50 a month can instead be self-hosted with Docker for free under the MIT license.

Elephas

• Annual discount

  Save about 17% with yearly billing

  On the yearly plan Standard drops from $19 to $15.83 a month, Professional from $39 to $32.50 and Pro+ from $49 to $40.83.