Khoj vs QOwnNotes
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
QOwnNotes
Plain-text note taking with Markdown and Nextcloud sync
| Feature | Khoj | QOwnNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,485 | ★ 5,886 |
| First released | 2021 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Notion AI, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote |
What are Khoj and QOwnNotes?
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
QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is an open-source plain-text note-taking and to-do application with Markdown support. It integrates tightly with Nextcloud and ownCloud for syncing notes across devices.
- Plain-text Markdown notes
- Nextcloud and ownCloud sync
- Scripting support
- Note versioning via Nextcloud
Khoj vs QOwnNotes: key differences
Khoj is written in Python, while QOwnNotes is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Khoj versus GPL-2.0 for QOwnNotes. QOwnNotes is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Khoj. QOwnNotes is the more established project (first released 2014), while Khoj arrived in 2021. Khoj has the considerably larger community, at 37,485 GitHub stars versus 5,886. Khoj lists first-class Docker deployment; QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes if…
- Pairs well with Nextcloud
- Notes remain plain files
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- Interface feels utilitarian
Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or QOwnNotes better?
Neither is universally better. Khoj has the larger community, while QOwnNotes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Khoj and QOwnNotes free and open-source?
Yes. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Khoj and QOwnNotes with Docker?
Khoj: yes. QOwnNotes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Khoj or QOwnNotes?
QOwnNotes 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.