head to head · open source
Khoj vs QOwnNotes
Khoj has 37,420 GitHub stars, 2,488 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. QOwnNotes has 5,884 stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Khoj leads on adoption by 536% (37,420 vs 5,884 stars). Khoj is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Khoj has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 8%. QOwnNotes was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (llm), 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
| Khoj | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-08-02 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 500 |
| 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 QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a GPL 2.0 licensed, C++ plain text notepad and todo list manager with Markdown support for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows that stores every note as a Markdown file and pairs with Nextcloud or ownCloud so the same notes stay readable on mobile and in the web service.
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Khoj or QOwnNotes more popular?
Khoj has 37,420 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,884. Khoj has the larger community by that measure.
Are Khoj and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Khoj is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Khoj and QOwnNotes?
Khoj is written in Python and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes?
Choose Khoj if you want the larger community (37,420 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.