head to head · open source
kotaemon vs Pipeshub
kotaemon has 25,776 GitHub stars, 2,156 forks, 247 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Pipeshub has 3,760 stars, 579 forks, 172 open issues and last shipped today. kotaemon leads on adoption by 586% (25,776 vs 3,760 stars). kotaemon is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Pipeshub is written in Python under Apache-2.0. kotaemon has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Pipeshub 15%. Pipeshub 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
| kotaemon | Pipeshub | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.2K | ⑂ 579 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick kotaemon if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Pipeshub if
- You want the Pipeshub feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Pipeshub fits your workflow better
About kotaemon
kotaemon is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed Python project that provides a clean and customizable retrieval augmented generation (RAG) UI for chatting with documents. It sits in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically under AI interaction and interfaces, and is built on Gradio so that the interface itself can be extended or modified. The README frames the project as serving two distinct audiences at once: end users who want to do question answering over their own files, and developers who want to build their own RAG pipeline on top of the framework.
read the full kotaemon overview →
About Pipeshub
PipesHub is an open source workplace AI platform in the enterprise AI ecosystem. It connects AI applications to knowledge stored across business systems, including Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, Microsoft 365, Notion, and 50+ other systems. The project gives AI agents trusted context and gives teams permission aware search with verified citations across those sources.
read the full Pipeshub overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is kotaemon or Pipeshub more popular?
kotaemon has 25,776 GitHub stars and Pipeshub has 3,760. kotaemon has the larger community by that measure.
Are kotaemon and Pipeshub free?
Both are open source. kotaemon is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pipeshub under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between kotaemon and Pipeshub?
kotaemon is written in Python and Pipeshub 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, kotaemon or Pipeshub?
Choose kotaemon if you want the larger community (25,776 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Pipeshub if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.