chatbot vs boardui
Two of the top projects in Chat apps, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
chatbot
Next.js chat template with Auth.js, Postgres history and AI Gateway models
boardui
React component library for agent UIs, installed as source via CLI
Verdict
chatbot ranks higher, 66 to 56. Of the 4 score parts we measure for both, chatbot leads on 1, boardui on 2 and 1 is even.
- Adoptionchatbot leads by 64 points, 91 to 27: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenanceboardui leads by 21 points, 50 to 29: a wide gap.
- Agent-readyboardui leads by 30 points, 30 to 0: a wide gap.
Pick chatbot if you are
Teams starting a chat product on Next.js and Vercel
- Auth.js, Postgres chat history and Drizzle migrations wired out of the box
- Live demo plus a separate docs site
Pick boardui if you are
React and Next.js developers building agent chat UIs and dashboards
- Components are copied as source, so you can edit every file
- One AI_API_KEY selects among 7 providers by key prefix, plus OpenAI-compatible servers
| What we compare | chatbot | boardui |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 91, widely used | 27, niche |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 29, weak | 50, fair |
| Agent-ready | 0, none | 30, minimal |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 21k | 1.2k |
| License | Apache-2.0 (permissive) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Nov 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | None published | None published |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Docker | No | No |
| GPU | Not needed | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Not stated |
chatbot
Clone it and you get a Next.js App Router chat app on the AI SDK with Auth.js login, chat history in Neon Postgres through Drizzle migrations, file uploads to Vercel Blob and a streaming UI on shadcn/ui. Models route through Vercel AI Gateway; Mistral, Moonshot, DeepSeek, OpenAI and xAI are preconfigured in lib/ai/models.ts. For teams starting a chat product on Vercel who want auth and persistence wired on day one.
Who it is for: Teams starting a chat product on Next.js and Vercel
Strengths
- Auth.js, Postgres chat history and Drizzle migrations wired out of the box
- Live demo plus a separate docs site
- Per-model provider routing in lib/ai/models.ts; swapping vendors is a small edit
- Tests included
Weaknesses
- Defaults to Vercel services: AI Gateway, Neon Postgres, Vercel Blob
- Off Vercel you must set AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY and replace Blob storage
- No Docker or compose files
- TypeScript, ai-gateway, ai-sdk, openai, mistral
- Needs postgres, vercel-blob, ai-gateway-api-key
- GitHub template
- env example file
- sign-in: Auth.js
boardui
BoardUI is a set of 69 free React components, built on React Aria Components and Tailwind CSS v4, that `npx boardui add` copies into a Next.js project as source. It covers agent pieces (chat, thinking indicator, agent log, composer) and dashboard pieces (data table, data grid, charts, sidebar, auth cards). The repo also runs as a chat app at `/` that streams replies from a provider chosen by the API key's prefix.
Who it is for: React and Next.js developers building agent chat UIs and dashboards
Strengths
- Components are copied as source, so you can edit every file
- One AI_API_KEY selects among 7 providers by key prefix, plus OpenAI-compatible servers
- Ships an MCP server, AGENTS.md rules and llms.txt for coding agents
- No database needed; chat history stays in the browser
Weaknesses
- Repo is generated from upstream source and accepts no pull requests
- Free tier only; the README implies paid items exist beyond the 69 here
- Chat endpoint is open to anyone with the URL, so cost depends on key limits
- Install targets Next.js projects only
- TypeScript, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenRouter
- Needs Node.js, Next.js, LLM provider API key
- env example file
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