head to head · open source
zvec vs knowhere
zvec has 15,972 GitHub stars, 998 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped today. knowhere has 3,388 stars, 322 forks, 40 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. zvec leads on adoption by 371% (15,972 vs 3,388 stars). zvec is written in C++ under Apache-2.0; knowhere is written in Python under Apache-2.0. zvec has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, knowhere 10%. zvec 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| zvec | knowhere | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 998 | ⑂ 322 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick zvec if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick knowhere if
- You want the knowhere 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 knowhere fits your workflow better
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.
About knowhere
Knowhere is an Apache 2.0 Python document parsing and retrieval system that turns complex, dirty files into persistent, navigable memory for AI agents and RAG pipelines, built for developers and teams assembling Agentic RAG, vector based RAG, or other LLM workflows over local and offline document collections.
read the full knowhere overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More Machine Learning Infrastructure projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Machine Learning Infrastructure field.
Frequently asked questions
Is zvec or knowhere more popular?
zvec has 15,972 GitHub stars and knowhere has 3,388. zvec has the larger community by that measure.
Are zvec and knowhere free?
Both are open source. zvec is licensed under Apache-2.0 and knowhere under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between zvec and knowhere?
zvec is written in C++ and knowhere 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, zvec or knowhere?
Choose zvec if you want the larger community (15,972 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose knowhere if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.