CherryTree vs Khoj

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureCherryTreeKhoj
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageC++Python
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 3,925★ 36,386
First released20092021
ReplacesOneNote, EvernoteNotion AI, Evernote

Why pick each one

Choose CherryTree if…

  • Highly portable single-file notes
  • Good for structured notes
CherryTree details

Choose Khoj if…

  • Turns notes into an AI knowledge base
  • Supports local LLMs
Khoj details

Frequently asked questions

Is CherryTree or Khoj better?

Neither is universally better. Khoj has the larger community, while CherryTree is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are CherryTree and Khoj free and open-source?

Yes. CherryTree is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Khoj under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run CherryTree and Khoj with Docker?

CherryTree: check the project docs for container support. Khoj: yes.

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