DocsGPT vs kotaemon
Short answer
DocsGPT: Open-source platform for AI agents and assistants that answer from your documents with sources. kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
DocsGPT and kotaemon publish 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
DocsGPT vs kotaemon side by side
| DocsGPT | kotaemon | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source platform for AI agents and assistants that answer from your documents with sources. | 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 license and notices. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 18.3k | 25.8k |
| Last commit | Oct 24, 2026 | May 30, 2026 |
| Latest release | 1.0.0 | v0.12.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | Docker |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Yes, by default | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free (OIDC free) | Not documented |
| Audit log | Yes, free | Not documented |
| RBAC | Yes, free | Not documented |
| Details | Full DocsGPT guide → | Full kotaemon guide → |
Key differences
- License: DocsGPT: MIT (Permissive). kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Deploy: DocsGPT: Docker Compose · multi-container stack. kotaemon: Docker · single container.
- GitHub stars: DocsGPT: 18.3k. kotaemon: 25.8k.
- Last commit: DocsGPT: Oct 24, 2026. kotaemon: May 30, 2026.
- Latest release: DocsGPT: 1.0.0 (Oct 8, 2026). kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; Official hardware: not published; GPU: not required or not stated; Est. server cost: not estimated (no official RAM figure); Status: Active.
DocsGPT vs kotaemon: FAQ
DocsGPT or kotaemon: which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack). DocsGPT and kotaemon publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, DocsGPT or kotaemon?
DocsGPT: not estimated (no official RAM figure). 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 DocsGPT and kotaemon need?
DocsGPT: not published. kotaemon: not published.
What is the license difference between DocsGPT and kotaemon?
DocsGPT: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is DocsGPT or kotaemon more actively maintained?
DocsGPT: Active, last commit Oct 24, 2026. kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 24, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, DocsGPT or kotaemon?
DocsGPT installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); kotaemon via Docker (single container). DocsGPT lists 4 known gotchas and kotaemon lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- DocsGPT self-hosting guide · kotaemon self-hosting guide
- All DocsGPT alternatives, ranked
- All kotaemon alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs DocsGPT
- AnythingLLM vs kotaemon
- DocsGPT vs FastGPT
- DocsGPT vs MaxKB
- DocsGPT vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- DocsGPT vs Open Notebook
- DocsGPT vs PrivateGPT
- DocsGPT vs RAGFlow
- FastGPT vs kotaemon
- kotaemon vs MaxKB
- kotaemon vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- kotaemon vs Open Notebook
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- DocsGPT GitHub repository: github.com/arc53/DocsGPT
- DocsGPT documentation: docs.docsgpt.cloud/
- DocsGPT license: github.com/arc53/DocsGPT/blob/main/LICENSE
- DocsGPT hardware requirements, DocsGPT deploy instructions: docs.docsgpt.cloud/Deploying/Docker-Deploying
- 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.