AnythingLLM vs kotaemon
Short answer
AnythingLLM: All-in-one private chat with your documents, agents and an embeddable widget. kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose AnythingLLM if you want: larger community (67.5k vs 25.8k GitHub stars).
kotaemon 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
AnythingLLM vs kotaemon side by side
| AnythingLLM | kotaemon | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | All-in-one private chat with your documents, agents and an embeddable widget. | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 67.5k | 25.8k |
| Last commit | Oct 23, 2026 | May 30, 2026 |
| Latest release | v1.18.0 | v0.12.0 |
| Minimum hardware | 2 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 5 GB disk | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | 274 MiB idle, 915 MiB working (our test, v1.18.0, Oct 22, 2026) | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | from €19.99/mo | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | No (documented) | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full AnythingLLM guide → | Full kotaemon guide → |
Key differences
- License: AnythingLLM: MIT (Permissive). kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: AnythingLLM: minimum 2 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 5 GB disk. kotaemon: not published.
- Est. server cost: AnythingLLM: from €19.99/mo. kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- GitHub stars: AnythingLLM: 67.5k. kotaemon: 25.8k.
- Last commit: AnythingLLM: Oct 23, 2026. kotaemon: May 30, 2026.
- Latest release: AnythingLLM: v1.18.0 (Oct 13, 2026). kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Deploy: Docker · single container; Status: Active.
AnythingLLM vs kotaemon: FAQ
AnythingLLM or kotaemon: which should a small business choose?
Choose AnythingLLM if you want: larger community (67.5k vs 25.8k GitHub stars). kotaemon publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, AnythingLLM or kotaemon?
AnythingLLM: from €19.99/mo. kotaemon: 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 AnythingLLM and kotaemon need?
AnythingLLM: minimum 2 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 5 GB disk. kotaemon: not published.
What is the license difference between AnythingLLM and kotaemon?
AnythingLLM: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the copyright notice. kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is AnythingLLM or kotaemon more actively maintained?
AnythingLLM: Active, last commit Oct 23, 2026. kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 23, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, AnythingLLM or kotaemon?
AnythingLLM installs via Docker (single container); kotaemon via Docker (single container). AnythingLLM lists 2 known gotchas and kotaemon lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- AnythingLLM self-hosting guide · kotaemon self-hosting guide
- All AnythingLLM alternatives, ranked
- All kotaemon alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs FastGPT
- AnythingLLM vs LibreChat
- AnythingLLM vs LobeHub (LobeChat)
- AnythingLLM vs MaxKB
- AnythingLLM vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- AnythingLLM vs Open Notebook
- AnythingLLM vs Open WebUI
- AnythingLLM vs PrivateGPT
- AnythingLLM vs RAGFlow
- FastGPT vs kotaemon
- kotaemon vs MaxKB
- kotaemon vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- AnythingLLM GitHub repository: github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm
- AnythingLLM documentation, AnythingLLM hardware requirements: docs.anythingllm.com/installation-docker/system-requirements
- AnythingLLM license: github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/blob/master/LICENSE
- AnythingLLM deploy instructions: github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm/blob/master/docker/HOW_TO_USE_DOCKER.md
- kotaemon GitHub repository: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon
- kotaemon documentation: cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/
- kotaemon license: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon/blob/main/LICENSE.txt
- kotaemon hardware requirements, kotaemon deploy instructions: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon#readme
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): 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.