Khoj vs Markor Sync
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Khoj
Self-hostable AI assistant over your personal notes
VS
Markor Sync
Plain-text and Markdown notes editor for synced folders
| Feature | Khoj | Markor Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,485 | ★ 6,170 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion AI, Evernote | Google Keep, Evernote |
What are Khoj and Markor Sync?
Khoj
Khoj is an open-source, self-hostable AI application that lets you search and chat with your notes, documents, and knowledge base. It connects to Markdown, Org-mode, PDF, and other personal data sources.
- AI chat over personal notes
- Semantic search across documents
- Connects many data sources
- Self-hostable
Markor Sync
Markor is a text and Markdown notes editor that works directly on local files, making it ideal for folders synchronized by tools like Syncthing. It supports to-do lists, Zim wiki, and todo.txt formats.
- Works on plain files
- Markdown and todo.txt
- No accounts needed
- Offline editing
Khoj vs Markor Sync: key differences
Khoj is written in Python, while Markor Sync is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Khoj versus Apache-2.0 for Markor Sync. Markor Sync is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Khoj. Markor Sync is the more established project (first released 2017), while Khoj arrived in 2021. Khoj has the considerably larger community, at 37,485 GitHub stars versus 6,170. Khoj lists first-class Docker deployment; Markor Sync does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Khoj if…
- Turns notes into an AI knowledge base
- Supports local LLMs
Watch out for
- Higher resource needs
- Setup more involved
Choose Markor Sync if…
- Pairs with any sync tool
- Privacy respecting
Watch out for
- Android only
- Manual sync setup
Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or Markor Sync better?
Neither is universally better. Khoj has the larger community, while Markor Sync is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Khoj and Markor Sync free and open-source?
Yes. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Markor Sync under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Khoj and Markor Sync with Docker?
Khoj: yes. Markor Sync: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Khoj or Markor Sync?
Markor Sync has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Khoj. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.