Chatbox vs PyGPT

Chatbox

• People who want the same chat app on desktop, phone and browser
• Users with their own API keys who prefer to pay providers per use
• Trying hosted GPT, Claude and Gemini models on a low-priced plan

PyGPT

• Technical users who want one desktop app for many model providers
• Running agents that can execute Python and work with local files
• Pairing a chat interface with local Ollama models at no cost

Chatbox

• Work Mode and the knowledge base are desktop only; the web and mobile apps offer regular chat.
• On the hosted service, advanced models, the knowledge base and MCP services need Pro or Pro+. Lite and Free are limited to standard models.
• Hosted usage is metered in compute points that reset monthly (daily on Free). Extra points are sold as add-on packs valid for 3 months.
• A license works on up to 5 devices at the same time, and switching plans means buying the new plan from the pricing page.

PyGPT

• Cloud models need your own API keys, and each provider charges for usage separately.
• macOS has no prebuilt app: it is installed from PyPI with Python 3.10 to 3.13, or run from source.
• Local models are not built in; they run through a separate Ollama installation and need compatible hardware.
• It is a desktop application only, for Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit Linux and macOS.

Chatbox

Your own keys or hosted models

Add API keys for OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter and other providers, run local models through Ollama or LM Studio, or subscribe to Chatbox AI for hosted models on one bill.

Work Mode

On desktop, an agent works in a loop of thinking and tool calls: it runs code, reads and writes files, calls MCP servers and queries knowledge bases until the task is done.

File and image chat

Attach PDFs, Word documents, images and code to a conversation so the model can summarize them and answer questions about their content.

Real-time web search

Chat can search the internet for current information. It is toggled from the toolbar in Chat Mode and managed from the control panel in Work Mode.

Local knowledge base

The desktop app stores documents in a local knowledge base the AI can search. Each file must be under 50 MB, in formats such as PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, CSV and EPUB.

Image generation and rich output

Generates images from a text description and renders Markdown, LaTeX formulas, Mermaid diagrams and code with a live preview.

PyGPT

Cloud and local models

Works with OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity Sonar and Hugging Face models through your own API keys, and with local models such as Llama, Qwen or Mistral served by Ollama.

Multi-agent workflows

Agents run as a primary agent, an orchestrator or a swarm of workers. Portable SKILL.md skills can be imported from GitHub or disk, and AGENTS.md files add project-specific instructions.

RAG and conversation memory

LlamaIndex indexes files, web pages, images, audio, video and past conversations into built-in vector stores, with a separate index per project and short- and long-term memory.

Python, system tools and MCP

Models can run Python, IPython and system commands in a built-in sandbox or Docker, call MCP servers through a Connectors manager, search the web and run scheduled tasks.

Voice, vision and generation

Realtime voice, speech recognition and speech synthesis through several providers, analysis of images and camera input, and image and video generation with models such as Imagen, Veo and Sora.

Profiles and built-in tools

Profiles keep separate settings, history and files. The workspace includes a notepad, a painter, a calendar with day notes, a web browser, presets, plugins and themes.

Chatbox

• Free$0

  Hosted service for light use: 10,000 compute points reset daily, standard models, web search, 5 generated images and a trial of Work Mode.

• Lite$3.50

  per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly)

  2,000,000 compute points a month on standard models, 25 generated images, web search and Work Mode. No advanced models, knowledge base or MCP services.

• Pro$16.70

  per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)

  12,000,000 compute points a month, advanced GPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok models, 100 generated images, the knowledge base and MCP services.

• Pro+$33.33

  per month, billed annually ($39.99 billed monthly)

  30,000,000 compute points a month and 200 generated images, with the same models and features as Pro.

PyGPT

• Free$0

  The full desktop app for Windows, Linux and macOS, including agents, RAG, plugins, MCP connectors and every work mode.

Chatbox

• Annual discount

  Lower monthly rate with annual billing

  Billed annually, Lite is $3.50 a month instead of $3.99, Pro $16.70 instead of $19.99 and Pro+ $33.33 instead of $39.99, a saving of about 12% to 17%.

PyGPT

No public discounts listed.