BobrChat

Pay only for what you use. Chat with Claude, GPT-5, Llama, and 200+ models in one place.
See exactly what each message costs. No subscription plans, no lock-in.

Features · Getting Started · Contributing · License

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Why BobrChat?

• Pay only for what you use: Real-time cost breakdown per message. No $20/mo plans you forget about.
• Compare models instantly: Switch between Claude, GPT, Llama, and 200+ others. See which is cheapest for your use case.
• Your keys, your control: Store API keys locally or encrypted on our servers. We don't charge you for the API usage.
• File attachments & web search: Upload files and search the web. Get real answers, not hallucinations.
• Open source: Full source code available. No vendor lock-in.

How BobrChat Compares

Feature	BobrChat	ChatGPT Plus	Claude Pro	Perplexity Pro	t3.chat
Monthly Cost	$0–$2.99	$20	$20	$20	$8
Pricing Model	Pay-per-token*	Flat subscription	Flat subscription	Flat subscription	Flat subscription + limits
Model Selection	200+ via OpenRouter	1 (GPT only)	1 (Claude only)	5+ models	~30 models
Cost Visibility	✓ Per-message breakdown	✗ Hidden	✗ Hidden	✗ Hidden	✗ Hidden
Bring Your Own API Keys	✓ All tiers	✗	✗	✗	✗ On paid plans
Free Tier	✓ Full BYOK support	✗	✗	✗	Limited (trial)
Usage Limits	✗ None (pay what you use)	✓ Undisclosed	✓ Undisclosed	✓ Rate-limited	✓ "Credits" system
Web Search	✓ Parallel.ai	✓	✓	✓	✓
File Attachments	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Open Source	✓ (BSL 1.1→MIT Jan 2027)	✗	✗	✗	✗
Data Privacy	✓ Encrypted, local key option	? Proprietary	? Proprietary	? Proprietary	? Proprietary
Shareable Conversations	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

*All users (free and Plus) can bring their own API keys. Plus tier ($2.99/mo) adds: unlimited threads, 100MB file storage, priority support.

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Framework	Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19
Styling	Tailwind CSS v4, shadcn/ui, Radix
Database	PostgreSQL via Drizzle ORM
Auth	WorkOS AuthKit
AI	Vercel AI SDK + OpenRouter
OG Images	Cloudflare Workers (og/)

Getting Started

Note

This project uses Nix for development tooling and Bun as the JavaScript runtime.

# Enter the Nix dev shell (provides the full toolchain)
nix develop

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Start local services (Postgres, etc.)
docker-compose up -d

# Push the database schema
bun db:push

# Start the dev server
bun run dev

Copy .env.example to .env and fill in the required values before running.

Project Structure

src/
├── app/                  # Next.js App Router
│   ├── (main)/           #   Authenticated app shell (chat, settings)
│   ├── auth/             #   Login / signup pages
│   ├── share/            #   Public shared thread views
│   └── api/              #   API routes
├── features/             # Feature modules
│   ├── chat/             #   Chat UI, actions, queries, store
│   ├── auth/             #   Session, auth actions, hooks
│   ├── attachments/      #   File upload & management
│   ├── settings/         #   User preferences
│   ├── models/           #   Model configuration
│   └── landing/          #   Landing page
├── components/ui/        # Shared UI primitives (shadcn/Radix)
├── lib/                  # Utilities, DB config, env, security
└── types/                # Global TypeScript declarations
og/                       # Cloudflare Worker for OG image generation

Each feature folder follows a consistent layout: components/, hooks/, server/, types.ts, queries.ts, and actions.ts.

License

This project is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1.