head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs Khoj
Open-Notebook has 39,087 GitHub stars, 4,527 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Khoj has 37,390 stars, 2,483 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 5% (39,087 vs 37,390 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; Khoj is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Open-Notebook has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Khoj 7%. Open-Notebook was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (assistant), 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
| Open-Notebook | Khoj | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 37K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-08-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.5K | ⑂ 2.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open-Notebook if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the MIT 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 Open-Notebook
Open Notebook is an open source, privacy focused research notebook that replicates and extends Google’s Notebook LM functionality. It runs locally or self hosted, letting users manage AI powered research workflows without surrendering data to cloud providers. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, React, SurrealDB, and LangChain, it targets researchers, students, and knowledge workers seeking control over their data and tools.
read the full Open-Notebook 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 Open-Notebook or Khoj more popular?
Open-Notebook has 39,087 GitHub stars and Khoj has 37,390. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and Khoj free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and Khoj under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and Khoj?
Open-Notebook 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, Open-Notebook or Khoj?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (39,087 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Khoj if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.