head to head · open source
serviette vs zvec
serviette has 58,799 GitHub stars, 1,510 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. zvec has 16,115 stars, 1,013 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. serviette leads on adoption by 265% (58,799 vs 16,115 stars). serviette is written in Python under MIT; zvec is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. serviette has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, zvec 6%. serviette 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
| serviette | zvec | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 59K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick serviette if
- You weight community size — 59K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick zvec if
- You want the zvec feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and zvec fits your workflow better
About serviette
serviette is a no code, always up to date RAG server that turns a folder of documents into a chat interface and a REST API with cited answers, built for teams that want question answering over their own organisation's files without assembling or maintaining a retrieval pipeline.
read the full serviette overview →
About zvec
Zvec is an open source, in process vector database written in C++ and licensed under Apache 2.0, built to embed directly into applications so that vector search, full text search, and hybrid retrieval run inside the developer's own process instead of behind a separate service.
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Frequently asked questions
Is serviette or zvec more popular?
serviette has 58,799 GitHub stars and zvec has 16,115. serviette has the larger community by that measure.
Are serviette and zvec free?
Both are open source. serviette is licensed under MIT and zvec under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between serviette and zvec?
serviette is written in Python and zvec 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, serviette or zvec?
Choose serviette if you want the larger community (58,799 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose zvec if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.