Chatd vs SurfSense
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Chatd
Chat with your documents using local AI
VS
SurfSense
Customizable AI research agent connected to your knowledge
| Feature | Chatd | SurfSense |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,080 | ★ 15,801 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | NotebookLM | NotebookLM, Perplexity |
Why pick each one
Choose Chatd if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Choose SurfSense if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 15.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatd or SurfSense better?
Neither is universally better. SurfSense has the larger community, while Chatd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Chatd and SurfSense free and open-source?
Yes. Chatd is licensed under MIT and SurfSense under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chatd and SurfSense with Docker?
Chatd: check the project docs for container support. SurfSense: yes.