AFFiNE vs Langchain-Chatchat
Short answer
AFFiNE: Notion- and Miro-style workspace (docs, whiteboards, databases) with built-in AI, self-hostable with Docker. Langchain-Chatchat: Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose AFFiNE if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale) and larger community (74.0k vs 38.7k GitHub stars).
Choose Langchain-Chatchat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core).
Langchain-Chatchat 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 Langchain-Chatchat side by side
| AFFiNE | Langchain-Chatchat | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Chinese-first local knowledge-base Q&A and agent app built on LangChain, wired to local model servers. |
| License | MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Open core | Permissive |
| 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. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. |
| Status | Active | Stale (no commit in 180+ days) |
| GitHub stars | 74.0k | 38.7k |
| Last commit | Oct 27, 2026 | Nov 10, 2025 |
| Latest release | v0.27.4 | v0.3.1 |
| 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 | Not required by the app itself. Since 0.3.0 hardware depends on the model server you connect; the docs say it can run on CPU, GPU, NPU or MPS. The Docker Compose guide pairs it with Xinference and assumes the NVIDIA Container Toolkit. |
| Est. server cost | from €35.99/mo | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose (official images) | pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 5 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free with limits (OIDC free) | Not documented |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full AFFiNE guide → | Full Langchain-Chatchat guide → |
Key differences
- License: AFFiNE: MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code (Open core). Langchain-Chatchat: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Langchain-Chatchat: not published.
- GPU: AFFiNE: not required or not stated. Langchain-Chatchat: optional / see notes.
- Est. server cost: AFFiNE: from €35.99/mo. Langchain-Chatchat: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- Deploy: AFFiNE: Docker Compose (official images) · multi-container stack. Langchain-Chatchat: pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) · multi-container stack.
- Status: AFFiNE: Active. Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days).
- GitHub stars: AFFiNE: 74.0k. Langchain-Chatchat: 38.7k.
- Last commit: AFFiNE: Oct 27, 2026. Langchain-Chatchat: Nov 10, 2025.
- Latest release: AFFiNE: v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026). Langchain-Chatchat: v0.3.1 (Jul 12, 2024).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG.
AFFiNE vs Langchain-Chatchat: FAQ
AFFiNE or Langchain-Chatchat: which should a small business choose?
Choose AFFiNE if you want: an actively maintained project (Langchain-Chatchat is stale) and larger community (74.0k vs 38.7k GitHub stars). Choose Langchain-Chatchat if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core). Langchain-Chatchat publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, AFFiNE or Langchain-Chatchat?
AFFiNE: from €35.99/mo. Langchain-Chatchat: 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 Langchain-Chatchat need?
AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Langchain-Chatchat: not published.
What is the license difference between AFFiNE and Langchain-Chatchat?
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. Langchain-Chatchat: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed. Models keep their own licenses. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is AFFiNE or Langchain-Chatchat more actively maintained?
AFFiNE: Active, last commit Oct 27, 2026. Langchain-Chatchat: Stale (no commit in 180+ days), last commit Nov 10, 2025. GitHub data refreshed Oct 31, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, AFFiNE or Langchain-Chatchat?
AFFiNE installs via Docker Compose (official images) (multi-container stack); Langchain-Chatchat via pip (or Docker Compose with Xinference) (multi-container stack). AFFiNE lists 4 known gotchas and Langchain-Chatchat lists 5; see each app page.
Related
- AFFiNE self-hosting guide · Langchain-Chatchat 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
- Langchain-Chatchat GitHub repository: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat
- Langchain-Chatchat documentation: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#readme
- Langchain-Chatchat license: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat/blob/master/LICENSE
- Langchain-Chatchat hardware requirements: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#0-软硬件要求
- Langchain-Chatchat deploy instructions: github.com/chatchat-space/Langchain-Chatchat#pip-安装部署
- 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.