Khoj vs Notesnook
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
Notesnook
Private, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app
| Feature | Khoj | Notesnook |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,485 | ★ 14,628 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion AI, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are Khoj and Notesnook?
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
Notesnook
Notesnook is an open-source, privacy-focused note-taking app with end-to-end encryption on all notes. Its sync server can be self-hosted so users keep complete control of their encrypted data.
- End-to-end encrypted notes
- Self-hostable sync server
- Rich text editor
- Cross-platform apps
Khoj vs Notesnook: key differences
Khoj is written in Python, while Notesnook is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Khoj versus GPL-3.0 for Notesnook. Notesnook is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Khoj. Khoj has the considerably larger community, at 37,485 GitHub stars versus 14,628.
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 Notesnook if…
- Strong privacy by default
- Polished apps on all platforms
Watch out for
- Self-hosting is relatively new
- Some features tied to subscription
Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or Notesnook better?
Neither is universally better. Khoj has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Khoj and Notesnook free and open-source?
Yes. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Khoj and Notesnook with Docker?
Khoj: yes. Notesnook: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Khoj or Notesnook?
Notesnook has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Khoj. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.