head to head · open source
Joplin vs Khoj
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Khoj has 37,390 stars, 2,483 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Joplin leads on adoption by 51% (56,416 vs 37,390 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Khoj is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Khoj 7%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (obsidian), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Joplin | Khoj | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 37K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 2.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Joplin if
- You weight community size — 56K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Khoj if
- You want the Khoj feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Khoj fits your workflow better
About Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source, privacy focused note taking and to do application that keeps notes as Markdown on your own device and synchronises them, end to end encrypted, across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
read the full Joplin overview →
About Khoj
Khoj is a self hostable, open source AI second brain written in Python that turns any local or online large language model into a personal research, automation, and agent platform for individuals, small teams, and enterprises that want their documents and queries kept under their own control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Khoj more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and Khoj has 37,390. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Khoj free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and Khoj?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Khoj 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, Joplin or Khoj?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Khoj if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.