GPT Researcher vs Khoj
Short answer
GPT Researcher: Open-source deep research agent that browses the web and local documents and writes cited reports. Khoj: Personal and team AI "second brain" for your documents and the web. Both are in our AI search & research assistants category.
Choose GPT Researcher if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)).
Khoj 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
GPT Researcher vs Khoj side by side
| GPT Researcher | Khoj | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | AI search & research assistants | AI search & research assistants |
| What it is | Open-source deep research agent that browses the web and local documents and writes cited reports. | Personal and team AI "second brain" for your documents and the web. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Network copyleft (AGPL) |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Khoj and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 30.3k | 37.8k |
| Last commit | Oct 10, 2026 | Aug 2, 2026 |
| Latest release | v3.7.0 | 2.0.0-beta.28 |
| Minimum hardware | 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 50 GB disk | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Only for offline chat with local models. 16 GB VRAM recommended; an NVIDIA/AMD GPU or an Apple M1+ machine speeds up responses significantly. |
| Est. server cost | from €11.99/mo | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 3 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Yes, by default | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full GPT Researcher guide → | Full Khoj guide → |
Key differences
- License: GPT Researcher: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Khoj: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)).
- Official hardware: GPT Researcher: minimum 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 50 GB disk. Khoj: not published.
- GPU: GPT Researcher: not required or not stated. Khoj: optional / see notes.
- Est. server cost: GPT Researcher: from €11.99/mo. Khoj: not estimated (no official RAM figure).
- GitHub stars: GPT Researcher: 30.3k. Khoj: 37.8k.
- Last commit: GPT Researcher: Oct 10, 2026. Khoj: Aug 2, 2026.
- Latest release: GPT Researcher: v3.7.0 (Sep 26, 2026). Khoj: 2.0.0-beta.28 (Mar 26, 2026).
Same for both: Category: AI search & research assistants; Deploy: Docker Compose · multi-container stack; Status: Active.
GPT Researcher vs Khoj: FAQ
GPT Researcher or Khoj: which should a small business choose?
Choose GPT Researcher if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)). Khoj publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, GPT Researcher or Khoj?
GPT Researcher: from €11.99/mo. Khoj: 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 GPT Researcher and Khoj need?
GPT Researcher: minimum 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 50 GB disk. Khoj: not published.
What is the license difference between GPT Researcher and Khoj?
GPT Researcher: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. Khoj: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Khoj and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is GPT Researcher or Khoj more actively maintained?
GPT Researcher: Active, last commit Oct 10, 2026. Khoj: Active, last commit Aug 2, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 23, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, GPT Researcher or Khoj?
GPT Researcher installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); Khoj via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). GPT Researcher lists 3 known gotchas and Khoj lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- GPT Researcher self-hosting guide · Khoj self-hosting guide
- All GPT Researcher alternatives, ranked
- All Khoj alternatives, ranked
- GPT Researcher vs Vane (formerly Perplexica)
- Khoj vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- Khoj vs Open Notebook
- Khoj vs Vane (formerly Perplexica)
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- GPT Researcher GitHub repository: github.com/assafelovic/gpt-researcher
- GPT Researcher documentation: docs.gptr.dev/
- GPT Researcher license: github.com/assafelovic/gpt-researcher/blob/main/LICENSE
- GPT Researcher hardware requirements: docs.gptr.dev/docs/gpt-researcher/getting-started/linux-deployment
- GPT Researcher deploy instructions: docs.gptr.dev/docs/gpt-researcher/getting-started/getting-started-with-docker
- Khoj GitHub repository: github.com/khoj-ai/khoj
- Khoj documentation, Khoj hardware requirements, Khoj deploy instructions: docs.khoj.dev/get-started/setup/
- Khoj license: github.com/khoj-ai/khoj/blob/master/LICENSE
- 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.