Khoj vs Notable
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
Notable
Markdown-based note-taking app for plain files
| Feature | Khoj | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 28 · At risk |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,485 | ★ 23,496 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Notion AI, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are Khoj and Notable?
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
Notable
Notable is a note-taking application that stores notes as plain Markdown files on disk. It offers a clean editor, tags, and full-text search while keeping all data in portable files.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Tag-based organization
- Full-text search
- Clean editor
Khoj vs Notable: key differences
Khoj is written in Python, while Notable is built with TypeScript. Notable is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Khoj. Notable is the more established project (first released 2018), while Khoj arrived in 2021. Khoj lists first-class Docker deployment; Notable 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 Notable if…
- Notes stay as portable files
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Desktop only
Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or Notable better?
Neither is universally better. Khoj has the larger community, while Notable is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Khoj and Notable free and open-source?
Yes. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notable under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Khoj and Notable with Docker?
Khoj: yes. Notable: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Khoj or Notable?
Notable has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Khoj. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.