ChatGPT runs closed models. If you want open weights you can audit, you have two paths: a hosted chat that runs them for you, or self-hosting your own.
People search for an "open source" ChatGPT alternative for different reasons. Some want software they can self-host. Others want the models to be open weights, auditable rather than sealed, without running servers themselves. These are different kinds of open, so the list splits along that line.
Berges AI sits in the hosted-but-open-weights camp: it runs open models for you, with privacy as a default. If you want to run everything yourself, the self-host options below do that.
A hosted chat on open-weights models (Kimi, DeepSeek, MiniMax). You do not run servers; you get open, auditable models with encryption at rest. Pro at $19/month.
Run open-weights models locally on your own machine with a simple command line.
An open-source desktop app for running open-weights models locally, with a chat UI.
Hugging Face's open chat interface over a rotating set of open models.
Berges AI runs open-weights models, which are published and auditable, but the app itself is a hosted product, not self-hostable software. If you need self-hostable software, Ollama or Jan are better fits.
Open weights means the model parameters are published, so the model is auditable and runnable by others. Open source usually refers to the surrounding software being freely available to run and modify. A tool can be one without the other.
Self-hosted options like Ollama and Jan are free to run on your own hardware. Berges AI is a hosted subscription with a limited free tier, so you trade setup for convenience and privacy defaults.