head to head · open source
serviette vs zvec
serviette has 58,774 GitHub stars, 1,515 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. zvec has 16,144 stars, 1,013 forks, 56 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. serviette leads on adoption by 264% (58,774 vs 16,144 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%. 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.
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Side by side
| serviette | zvec | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 59K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-22 |
| 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 Looking for llm app templates? All templates, cookbooks and examples are still available in full in the Pathway repository under examples/llm app . A no code, always up to date RAG server for any vector database — built on the Pathway Live Data Framework. Point serviette at a folder of documents, pick a vector database and an embedder in one YAML file, and run two commands: you get a chat and a REST API that answer from those documents and cite their sources. From then on, any change to the documents — an edit, a new file, a deletion — is reflected in the answers within seconds. serviette runs on…
read the full serviette overview →
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…
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Frequently asked questions
Is serviette or zvec more popular?
serviette has 58,774 GitHub stars and zvec has 16,144. 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 (58,774 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose zvec if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.