SumizAI vs Kelivo

What Kelivo is

Kelivo is an open-source, cross-platform Flutter chat client for interacting with large language models (LLMs). The app provides a unified chat interface that runs on both mobile and desktop platforms, aimed at users who want a local, self-buildable LLM chat application with a modern interface. Kelivo is entirely free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, available on macOS, Windows, Android, iPhone, Linux, iPad, and Android tablets.

Key features and functionality

Being built in Flutter, Google's cross-platform application development framework, lets Kelivo run from a single codebase on an unusually wide set of operating systems and device types - from phones to desktop computers. A unified chat interface means the user experiences the same, consistent way of interacting with LLMs regardless of which device they're currently working on, with no need to relearn usage when switching platforms. Its local nature and the option to self-build set Kelivo apart from ready-made, closed cloud applications - technical users can build their own version of the app from source code, adapting it to specific needs. The AGPL-3.0 license, a stronger form of open source license, requires that any code modifications made publicly available, for instance as a network service, also remain open source.

Who it's for

Kelivo is aimed primarily at users looking for an open-source chat client for LLMs, wanting full visibility into the code responsible for processing their conversations. Enthusiasts using multiple devices at once - a phone, a tablet, a computer - appreciate Kelivo's unified interface working consistently across every one of those platforms. Developers interested in self-building and modifying the app use the code's openness to adapt Kelivo to their own specific technical requirements. People who value the AGPL-3.0 license for ethical reasons, supporting projects that guarantee lasting code openness, deliberately choose Kelivo as a tool aligned with those values.

Use cases

A user switching between an Android phone on the go and a Windows computer at the office uses Kelivo on both devices, having the same consistent chat interface regardless of the platform currently in use. A developer interested in customizing the chat client for their own needs builds Kelivo from source code, introducing modifications unavailable in the standard, ready-made version of the app. Someone using multiple LLMs at once uses Kelivo as one universal interface for interacting with different models, instead of a separate app for each. A technical team deploying Kelivo within their organization values the guarantee of lasting code openness that comes from the AGPL-3.0 license.

Pricing and business model

Kelivo is entirely free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, with no fees for downloading and using the application. As an open-source project, the business model rests on developer community involvement rather than traditional subscription revenue - users can freely use the ready-made app or build their own version from source code.

Comparison with SumizAI

Kelivo and SumizAI offer different approaches to accessing language models. Kelivo is an open-source, cross-platform chat client requiring its own configuration of access to LLMs, available on an unusually wide set of devices. SumizAI, by contrast, is a ready-made web platform aggregating the major AI providers in one place, accessible from a browser, with no need for self-building or technical configuration. A user who values code openness and the ability to adapt the app to their own needs might choose Kelivo, while people looking for a ready, integrated solution will naturally reach for SumizAI.

AI notes from conversations across multiple devices

Kelivo users holding conversations with LLMs across different devices often export the most important fragments as ai notes, building a knowledge archive accessible regardless of which device was used during a given conversation. Kelivo's open code lets advanced users customize how such ai notes are exported to their own preferences, something closed commercial apps don't offer. The unified interface also means the process of creating an ai notes entry looks identical regardless of platform, making it easier to build a consistent habit of documenting valuable conversation fragments. The AGPL-3.0 license additionally guarantees the ai notes saving mechanism stays open even in forks built by commercial parties.

What SumizAI is

A note-taking application built around a conversation with an AI model. You ask a question, the answer streams back, and the answers worth keeping become Markdown notes — filed into a vault that is a folder on your own disk.

A vault is a directory holding base.md, a generated table of contents up to six levels deep, and a notes/ folder with one .md file per note. Before a note is written it is checked against the ones already there, so the fourth note about the same idea gets merged instead of added. Links between notes are ordinary Markdown links to files that exist.

The model is never ours: you bring your own API key to one of seven providers — Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, a local Ollama or your own server — and pay that provider directly. A question sends the table of contents plus at most five relevant notes within a 24,000-character budget, and the app shows you which five it used.

Every answer kept this way becomes one of these ai notes, ready to search again months later without hunting back through old chats.

Side by side

Where they differ

• Both mention AI. The difference is whose key it runs on: SumizAI never resells inference — you connect one of seven providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, a local Ollama or your own server) with your own API key and pay that provider directly. Check what Kelivo does with the model bill before comparing prices.
• Kelivo is open source (AGPL-3.0), and SumizAI is not. If reading the source is what decides it for you, that is a real argument for Kelivo. The guarantee SumizAI offers instead is structural rather than legal: the notes are Markdown files in a folder you chose, so they open in any editor whether or not the application is running.
• AlternativeTo's description of Kelivo does not mention Markdown, so check what format your notes end up in before you fill it up. SumizAI writes standard .md files to a folder you picked, and an unpaid account can still export all of them.

Which one to pick