head to head · open source
Khoj vs vnote
Khoj has 37,420 GitHub stars, 2,488 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. vnote has 12,964 stars, 1,298 forks, 270 open issues and last shipped today. Khoj leads on adoption by 189% (37,420 vs 12,964 stars). Khoj is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; vnote is written in C++ under LGPL-3.0. Khoj has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, vnote 10%. vnote 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.
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Side by side
| Khoj | vnote | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 13K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-08-02 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Khoj if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick vnote if
- You want the vnote feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and vnote fits your workflow better
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.
About vnote
VNote is a Qt based, free and open source note taking application written in native C++, focused on Markdown and aimed at anyone who wants structured note management and a strong editing experience instead of a bare Markdown text editor.
read the full vnote overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or vnote more popular?
Khoj has 37,420 GitHub stars and vnote has 12,964. Khoj has the larger community by that measure.
Are Khoj and vnote free?
Both are open source. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and vnote under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Khoj and vnote?
Khoj is written in Python and vnote in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Khoj or vnote?
Choose Khoj if you want the larger community (37,420 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose vnote if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.