head to head · open source
Docmost vs SurfSense
Docmost has 21,710 GitHub stars, 1,567 forks, 326 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SurfSense has 16,159 stars, 1,537 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docmost leads on adoption by 34% (21,710 vs 16,159 stars). Docmost is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. Docmost has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, SurfSense 10%. SurfSense was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Docmost | SurfSense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 16K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docmost if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SurfSense if
- You want the SurfSense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SurfSense fits your workflow better
About Docmost
Docmost is an open source collaborative wiki and documentation software written in TypeScript and licensed under the AGPL 3.0 license. It positions itself as an open alternative to Atlassian Confluence and Notion, and its tagline describes it as a self hosted wiki with AI, compliance, and real time editing. The project lives in the knowledge management and note taking ecosystem, where teams manage documentation and knowledge base content.
read the full Docmost overview →
About SurfSense
SurfSense is an open source NotebookLM alternative and privacy first knowledge base that can work with any AI model chosen by the user. It is a Python productivity and knowledge management project in the agent, RAG, LangChain, LangGraph, FastAPI, Next.js, and Ollama ecosystem. The project presents itself as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live data connectors and a built in knowledge base that keeps findings searchable with citations.
read the full SurfSense overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docmost or SurfSense more popular?
Docmost has 21,710 GitHub stars and SurfSense has 16,159. Docmost has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docmost and SurfSense free?
Both are open source. Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Docmost and SurfSense?
Docmost is written in TypeScript and SurfSense in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docmost or SurfSense?
Choose Docmost if you want the larger community (21,710 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose SurfSense if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.