Archivy vs Karakeep
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Karakeep
Self-hosted bookmark everything app with AI tagging
| Feature | Archivy | Karakeep |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 19 · At risk | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,277 | ★ 29,250 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Evernote | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Archivy and Karakeep?
Archivy
Archivy is a self-hostable knowledge repository that lets you preserve useful web pages and notes so they are accessible and searchable offline. Saved bookmarks have their full content archived and indexed for full-text search.
- Full content archiving
- Offline searchable
- Markdown notes
- Extensible plugins
Karakeep
Karakeep, formerly Hoarder, is a self-hosted app for bookmarking links, notes, and images with AI-powered automatic tagging and full-text search. It targets users who want a smart digital scrapbook. It is deployed via Docker.
- Bookmark links, notes and images
- AI-based automatic tagging
- Full-page archiving
- Mobile apps and extensions
Archivy vs Karakeep: key differences
Archivy is written in Python, while Karakeep is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Archivy versus AGPL-3.0 for Karakeep. Archivy is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Karakeep. Archivy is the more established project (first released 2020), while Karakeep arrived in 2024. Karakeep has the considerably larger community, at 29,250 GitHub stars versus 3,277.
Why pick each one
Choose Archivy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose Karakeep if…
- Smart AI tagging
- Archives full pages
- Polished apps
Watch out for
- Heavier than simple tools
- AI features need an API key
Frequently asked questions
Is Archivy or Karakeep better?
Neither is universally better. Karakeep has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Archivy and Karakeep free and open-source?
Yes. Archivy is licensed under MIT and Karakeep under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Archivy and Karakeep with Docker?
Archivy: yes. Karakeep: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Archivy or Karakeep?
Archivy has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Karakeep. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.