AFFiNE vs Karakeep
Short answer
AFFiNE: Notion- and Miro-style workspace (docs, whiteboards, databases) with built-in AI, self-hostable with Docker. Karakeep: Self-hosted bookmark and read-later app (formerly Hoarder) with AI tagging, summaries and full-text search. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose AFFiNE if you want: fewer license conditions (Open core vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (74.0k vs 30.2k GitHub stars).
Karakeep publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
AFFiNE vs Karakeep side by side
| AFFiNE | Karakeep | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Notion- and Miro-style workspace (docs, whiteboards, databases) with built-in AI, self-hostable with Docker. | Self-hosted bookmark and read-later app (formerly Hoarder) with AI tagging, summaries and full-text search. |
| License | MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Open core | Network copyleft (AGPL) |
| License conditions | The README says the Community Edition is free to self-host under the MIT license. The server code under packages/backend carries an AFFiNE Enterprise Edition license that applies to parts not distributed as Community Edition. Self-hosted workspaces get up to 10 seats; more seats need a paid Team Plan or Installable License. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Karakeep and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 74.0k | 30.2k |
| Last commit | Oct 27, 2026 | Oct 31, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.27.4 | v0.34.1 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | No. AI tagging calls OpenAI or an Ollama server you configure. |
| Est. server cost | from €35.99/mo | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose (official images) | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Yes, by default |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free with limits (OIDC free) | Free (OIDC free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full AFFiNE guide → | Full Karakeep guide → |
Key differences
- License: AFFiNE: MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code (Open core). Karakeep: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)).
- Official hardware: AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Karakeep: not published.
- GPU: AFFiNE: not required or not stated. Karakeep: optional / see notes.
- Est. server cost: AFFiNE: from €35.99/mo. Karakeep: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- Deploy: AFFiNE: Docker Compose (official images) · multi-container stack. Karakeep: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: AFFiNE: 74.0k. Karakeep: 30.2k.
- Last commit: AFFiNE: Oct 27, 2026. Karakeep: Oct 31, 2026.
- Latest release: AFFiNE: v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026). Karakeep: v0.34.1 (Oct 22, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; Status: Active.
AFFiNE vs Karakeep: FAQ
AFFiNE or Karakeep: which should a small business choose?
Choose AFFiNE if you want: fewer license conditions (Open core vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (74.0k vs 30.2k GitHub stars). Karakeep publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, AFFiNE or Karakeep?
AFFiNE: from €35.99/mo. Karakeep: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do AFFiNE and Karakeep need?
AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Karakeep: not published.
What is the license difference between AFFiNE and Karakeep?
AFFiNE: MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code (Open core). The README says the Community Edition is free to self-host under the MIT license. The server code under packages/backend carries an AFFiNE Enterprise Edition license that applies to parts not distributed as Community Edition. Self-hosted workspaces get up to 10 seats; more seats need a paid Team Plan or Installable License. Karakeep: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Karakeep and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is AFFiNE or Karakeep more actively maintained?
AFFiNE: Active, last commit Oct 27, 2026. Karakeep: Active, last commit Oct 31, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Nov 1, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, AFFiNE or Karakeep?
AFFiNE installs via Docker Compose (official images) (multi-container stack); Karakeep via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). AFFiNE lists 4 known gotchas and Karakeep lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- AFFiNE self-hosting guide · Karakeep self-hosting guide
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Sources
- AFFiNE GitHub repository: github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE
- AFFiNE documentation: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine
- AFFiNE license: github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE/blob/canary/LICENSE
- AFFiNE hardware requirements: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/requirements
- AFFiNE deploy instructions: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/docker-compose-recommended
- Karakeep GitHub repository: github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep
- Karakeep documentation, Karakeep hardware requirements, Karakeep deploy instructions: docs.karakeep.com/installation/docker/
- Karakeep license: github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep/blob/main/LICENSE
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.