head to head · open source
zvec vs rag_api
zvec has 16,181 GitHub stars, 1,017 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rag_api has 920 stars, 413 forks, 45 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. zvec leads on adoption by 1,659% (16,181 vs 920 stars). zvec is written in C++ under Apache-2.0; rag_api is written in Python under MIT. zvec has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, rag_api 45%. zvec was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (rag), 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
| zvec | rag_api | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 920 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-10-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 413 |
| 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 rag_api if
- You want the rag_api feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and rag_api fits your workflow better
About zvec
English 中文 🚀 Quickstart 🏠 Home 📚 Docs 📊 Benchmarks 🔎 DeepWiki 🎮 Discord 🐦 X (Twitter) Zvec is an open source, in process vector database — lightweight, lightning fast, and designed to embed directly into applications. Battle tested within Alibaba Group, it delivers production grade, low latency and scalable similarity search with minimal setup. [!Important] 🚀 v0.7.0 (August 24, 2026) zvec grep ( zg ) : Local first workspace search that unifies ripgrep, BM25, and vector search behind one CLI — built for humans and AI agents. ReMe integration : zvec is now a file store backend in ReMe, the memory…
About rag_api
ID based RAG FastAPI Overview This project integrates Langchain with FastAPI in an Asynchronous, Scalable manner, providing a framework for document indexing and retrieval, using PostgreSQL/pgvector. Files are organized into embeddings by file id . The primary use case is for integration with LibreChat, but this simple API can be used for any ID based use case. The main reason to use the ID approach is to work with embeddings on a file level. This makes for targeted queries when combined with file metadata stored in a database, such as is done by LibreChat. The API will evolve over time to employ different…
read the full rag_api overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is zvec or rag_api more popular?
zvec has 16,181 GitHub stars and rag_api has 920. zvec has the larger community by that measure.
Are zvec and rag_api free?
Both are open source. zvec is licensed under Apache-2.0 and rag_api under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between zvec and rag_api?
zvec is written in C++ and rag_api 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 rag_api?
Choose zvec if you want the larger community (16,181 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose rag_api if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.