Onyx vs Swirl
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Onyx
AI assistant connected to your company's knowledge
VS
Swirl
AI-powered metasearch across multiple data sources
| Feature | Onyx | Swirl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 8,192 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, helm | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 31,496 | ★ 3,040 |
| First released | 2023 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Glean, ChatGPT Enterprise | Glean |
Why pick each one
Choose Onyx if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 31.5k GitHub stars
Choose Swirl if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Onyx or Swirl better?
Neither is universally better. Onyx has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Onyx and Swirl free and open-source?
Yes. Onyx is licensed under MIT and Swirl under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Onyx and Swirl with Docker?
Onyx: yes. Swirl: yes.